BMJ 2002;324:676 ( 16 March )

Letters

Implications of childhood obesity for adult health

    Message on childhood obesity was missed
    Authors' reply

Message on childhood obesity was missed

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---We are concerned that Abbasi's website of the week review on the article by Wright et al may have left both health professionals and the public with the erroneous impression that obesity in (peripubescent) childhood does not predict obesity in later life and is not a cause for concern. 1 2

The data of Wright et al show that body mass index in childhood and at age 50 is strongly associated---for example, among children in the top quarter of weight at 9 years, 73% (59/81) become overweight or obese adults at age 50, whereas of those who are in the top quarter at 13, 82% (64/78) are overweight or obese at age 50. This is a highly significant association, and it is not true that thin children are just as likely to be fat adults. It is also important to remember that the childhood of this sample fell into a postwar environment where . . . [Full text of this article]
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Hardly a "rediscovery" ..
George Davey Smith
bmj.com, 5 Apr 2002 [Full text]
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