Teens who are overweight or obese may be more likely to develop T2D or have a heart attack in their 30s and 40s, according to a study pub- lished in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. These teens are also more likely to develop other health issues, regardless of whether they shed any excess weight during adulthood. The researchers analyzed data, specifically BMI z-scores, on 12,300 adolescents who were fol- lowed for 24 years as part of the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. When compared with teens who had lower BMI z-scores, adolescents with higher scores had a nearly 9% increased risk for devel- oping T2D, a 0.8% greater risk for having a heart attack in their 30s and 40s, and a 2.6% higher risk for being in overall poorer health, regardless of their adult BMI. The researchers controlled for factors known to affect health out- comes, such as race/ethnicity and tobacco and alcohol use.
