If a person is overweight in high school, he or she is more likely to be unemployed or on welfare during his 20s and 30s. Overweight teens are also more likely to suffer from chronic health problems such as diabetes or high blood pressure by age 40, when compared to people who gained weight as an adult, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.
- Lead author Professor Philippa Clarke of the Institute for Social Research studied 5,000 high school graduates who had been tracked for 20 years.
- Her new study compared those who were at a healthy weight when they graduated from high school, but gained weight over time to those who were heavy as teenagers.
- Dr. Clarke took into consideration factors such as lower socioeconomic status as a teenager, and still found that being overweight contributes to economic problems as an adult.
- Overweight teens who got good grades in high school were able to do better economically as adults.
The study appeared in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Labels: health, teenagers, economics
Posted By: Jane St. Clair
