The researchers tracked weight changes from age 17 to 60 and studied how these changes affected the risk of death. <\/p>\n The results show a clear message. Gaining weight early in adulthood can have long lasting effects on health<\/a>.<\/p>\n Studying weight patterns<\/p>\n This research is part of the Obesity and Disease Development Sweden study, which collected data over many years.<\/p>\n The study included more than 620,000 men and women who had their weight measured at least three times between ages 17 and 60.<\/p>\n Researchers followed these individuals for many years. On average, men were followed for over 23 years and women for about 12 years. <\/p>\n During this time, more than 100,000 people died, which helped researchers understand long-term patterns between weight and health.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most consistent finding is that weight gain at a younger age is linked to a higher risk of premature death later in life, compared with people who gain less weight<\/a>,\u201d said Tanja Stocks, associate professor of epidemiology at Lund University.<\/p>\n How weight changes over time<\/p>\n Most people do not stay at the same weight throughout life. The study found that weight usually increases from age 17 to 60. On average, people gained about 0.42 kg each year.<\/p>\n This may seem small, but over decades it adds up. In fact, the study showed that many people gained around 18 kg during adulthood. <\/p>\n Weight gain was faster in younger years, especially in men, and slowed down later in life.<\/p>\n The researchers also grouped people based on how fast their weight<\/a> increased. Those with the fastest weight gain had a much higher risk of dying from serious diseases compared to those with stable weight.<\/p>\n Why early weight gain is more harmful<\/p>\n The timing of weight gain matters a lot. People who became obese between ages 17 and 29 had about a 70 percent higher risk of early death compared to those who did not become obese before age 60.<\/p>\n \u201cOne possible explanation for why people with early obesity onset are at greater risk is their longer period exposed to the biological effects of excess weight,\u201d said doctoral student Huyen Le, first author of the study.<\/p>\n This means the body stays under stress for a longer time. Extra weight can lead to problems like inflammation, insulin resistance, and strain on the heart. <\/p>\n Over many years, these problems increase the risk of diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.<\/p>\n Diseases linked to weight gain<\/p>\n The study showed strong links between weight gain and many serious diseases. These include cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes, type 2 diabetes, and diseases of the liver and kidneys.<\/p>\n In fact, cardiovascular disease accounted for a large number of deaths. The researchers also found strong connections between weight gain and diabetes-related deaths. This shows how deeply weight affects the body\u2019s systems.<\/p>\n The findings also showed that weight gain in early adulthood had the strongest link with these diseases. Weight gain later in life still mattered, but the effect was weaker.<\/p>\n Cancer risk shows a different pattern<\/p>\n Cancer showed a slightly different pattern, especially in women. Weight gain at any age increased the risk of cancer, not just early weight gain.<\/p>\n \u201cThe risk was roughly the same regardless of when the weight gain occurred. If long-term exposure to obesity were the underlying risk factor, earlier weight gain should imply a higher risk,\u201d said Le.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that this is not the case suggests that other biological mechanisms may also play a role in cancer risk and survival in women.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers think hormones may explain this. Changes during menopause can affect both weight and cancer risk.<\/p>\n \u201cIf our findings among women reflect what happens during menopause, the question is which came first: the chicken or the egg?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt may be that hormonal changes affect weight and the age and duration over which these changes occur \u2013 and that weight simply reflects what\u2019s happening in the body<\/a>,\u201d explained Le.<\/p>\n Why this study is important<\/p>\n This study stands out because it used many weight measurements over a long period. Most studies only look at weight at one or two points in time. Here, researchers could track how weight changed across life.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of weight measurements in this study were, instead, taken by staff, for example in healthcare settings,\u201d said study co-author Tanja Stocks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe predominance of objectively measured weights in our study contributes to more reliable and robust results.\u201d<\/p>\n What are the risks?<\/p>\n A 70 percent higher risk does not mean everyone will face the same outcome. For example, if 10 out of 1,000 people die in one group, about 17 out of 1,000 might die in a higher risk group.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we shouldn\u2019t get too hung up on exact risk figures. They are rarely entirely accurate, as they are influenced, for example, by the factors taken into account in the study and the accuracy with which both risk factors and outcomes have been measured,\u201d said Stocks.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, it\u2019s important to recognize the patterns, and this study sends an important message to decision-makers and politicians regarding the importance of preventing obesity.\u201d<\/p>\n A message for everyday life<\/p>\n The study highlights a simple but powerful idea. Small weight gains over time can have big effects on health. Early adulthood is an important period where healthy habits can make a lasting difference.<\/p>\n Many experts describe today\u2019s world as an obesogenic society. This means daily life often encourages unhealthy habits.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s up to policymakers to implement measures that we know are effective in combating obesity. This study provides further evidence that such measures are likely to have a positive impact on people\u2019s health,\u201d said Stocks.<\/p>\n The message is clear. Taking care of your weight early in life can help protect your health for many years ahead.long lasting<\/p>\n The study is published in the journal EClinicalMedicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.<\/p>\n Check us out on EarthSnap<\/a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls<\/a> and Earth.com.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Weight gain does not just affect how you look today. It can shape your health many years into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,137],"class_list":{"0":"post-602415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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