Adolescent body mass index predicts future cardiovascular risk

One-third of the adolescent population in Western countries is now considered to be overweight or obese. The implications of this epidemic remain unclear but may well lead to an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease and an erosion in the mortality and morbidity gains that have been apparent in the last few decades. To further explore this question, records from an Israeli national database containing the BMIs of adolescents was analysed. Data for a total of 2.3 million individuals (mean age 17 years.) was available between 1967 and 2010 compromising a total of over 42 000 000 years of person follow-up. Body mass index (BMI) was assessed by centiles and linked to mortality data for the population. 9.1% of deaths in this young cohort were attributable to cardiovascular causes with 1497 from coronary …