Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health have determined that those with a higher-than-normal body mass index (BMI) at 18 have as much as a three-fold risk for premature death as adults than those with a normal BMI. Examining the records of 102,400 women enrolled in the Nurses Health Study II, the researchers found that those women who had a higher-than-normal BMI at 18 years old, prior to the start of the study, were far more likely to have died at some point during the 12 years of the study than those of normal BMI.

Further studies are being conducted to determine whether taking diet pills such as sibutramine, along with nutrition counseling and careful medical monitoring, may be an effective way for obese teens to lose weight and lower the risk of premature death.