Teen weight changes linked to altered likelihood of heart disease

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-12-02 03:00

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Overweight children who drop to a healthy weight before adulthood are no more likely to get heart disease later on than people who were never overweight, according to an overseas study of over 100,000 people. On the other hand, only becoming overweight as a teen was linked to an even higher risk of heart disease in adulthood than people who had been overweight since childhood. The researchers noted that they only looked at people born from 1945-1968, who were mostly white, so these results might not be applicable to everyone today. However, they said their results still highlight the need for early treatment of overweight children and preventative measures early in life.

Media release

From: JAMA

Change in Weight Status From Childhood to Young Adulthood and Risk of Adult Coronary Heart Disease

This study found that individuals with overweight in childhood who had normal weight in young adulthood had similar risk of coronary heart disease as individuals with normal weight in childhood and young adulthood. These findings have implications for public health planning, emphasizing the importance of early detection and treatment of overweight during childhood and adolescence.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Pediatrics

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Funder: Funding/Support: This study was supported by the Swedish Research Council (Kindblom: 2021-01439; Ohlsson: 2020-01392; Rosengren: 2023-02144), the Heart-Lung Foundation (Kindblom: 2022-0406, 2022-0620; Rosengren: 2021-0345), grants from the Swedish state under the agreement between the Swedish government and the county councils, the ALF-agreement (Kindblom: ALFGBG-965996; Ohlsson: ALFGBG-720331, ALFGBG 965235, and ALFGBG-965744), the Yngve Land Memorial Foundation (Kindblom), the Lundberg Foundation (Ohlsson: LU2021-0096), the Torsten Söderberg Foundation (Ohlsson: M65/ 15), the Novo Nordisk Foundation (Ohlsson: NNF 190C0055250 and 22OC0078421), the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (Ohlsson: KAW, 2015.0317), the Swedish Society for Medical Research (Bygdell: PD20-0012), and the Region Västra Götaland, Research and Development Primary Health Care (Bramsved: VGFOUSA-983036). Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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