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Objective: To estimate the expected weight gain through midlife for those in a given BMI category in young adulthood., Design and Methods: Group-based trajectory modeling and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 data from 1990 to 2008 were used to quantify weight trajectories through midlife for 10,038 young adult men and women stratified by BMI category. Logistic regression was used to assess the association of trajectory membership with obesity-related conditions (hypertension, diabetes, arthritis) in middle age., Results: Annual weight gain averaged 0.53 kg (1.17 lb) across the entire sample. However, there was considerable variation by and within BMI categories. More than 98% of men and 92% of women were on upward-sloping trajectories, generally moving into a higher BMI category by middle age. Those who experienced early and rapid weight gain during young adulthood were most likely to be on a steeper trajectory and had greater risks for obesity-related conditions., Conclusion: This study points to the health and weight benefits of entering young adulthood with a normal BMI, but further reveals that this is no guarantee of maintaining a healthy weight through midlife. For those who are young adults today, weight maintenance is unlikely to occur without significant environmental or technical innovation., (Copyright © 2013 The Obesity Society.)

This study describes the body mass status of older (≥60 years) Singaporeans, using the international and Asian body mass index (BMI) classifications, assesses sociodemographic correlates of BMI, underweight, obesity, and "high-risk" BMI (≥27.5 kg/m(2)), and ascertains the relationship between body mass and important health outcomes. Prevalence of underweight, obesity, and high-risk BMI among 4371 older Singaporeans was 6.8%, 7.4%, and 18.6%, respectively. Women (vs men) and Malays and Indians (vs Chinese) were more likely to have obesity or high-risk BMI. Increasing education decreased the odds of obesity and high-risk BMI only among women. Prevalence and odds of various health conditions was similar in corresponding categories of the two BMI classifications. Whereas the prevalence of obesity is lower among elderly in Singapore than in many other countries, the prevalence of high-risk BMI is considerable. It is important to address high-risk BMI among them, with elderly of minority ethnic groups, especially females, being a priority.

Objective: Parenting styles such as authoritarian, disengaged, or permissive are thought to be associated with greater adolescent obesity risk than an authoritative style. This study assessed the relationship between parenting styles and changes in body mass index (BMI) from adolescence to young adulthood., Method: The study included self-reported data from adolescents in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Factor mixture modeling, a data-driven approach, was used to classify participants into parenting style groups based on measures of acceptance and control. Latent growth modeling (LGM) identified patterns of developmental changes in BMI. After a number of potential confounders were controlled for, parenting style variables were entered as predictors of BMI trajectories. Analyses were also conducted for male and female individuals of 3 racial-ethnic groups (Hispanic, black, white) to assess whether parenting styles were differentially associated with BMI trajectories in these 6 groups., Results: Parenting styles were classified into 4 groups: authoritarian, disengaged, permissive, and balanced. Compared with the balanced parenting style, authoritarian and disengaged parenting styles were associated with a less steep average BMI increase (linear slope) over time, but also less leveling off (quadratic) of BMI over time. Differences in BMI trajectories were observed for various genders and races, but the differences did not reach statistical significance., Conclusion: Adolescents who reported having parents with authoritarian or disengaged parenting styles had greater increases in BMI as they transitioned to young adulthood despite having a lower BMI trajectory through adolescence.

Background: Most studies describing change in body mass through adulthood model an 'average' trajectory bearing the same functional form in the underlying population. Latent-class growth modelling has revealed the presence of several underlying body mass/obesity trajectory groups among children and adolescents, but has not been applied to capture adult body mass trajectories. We apply the technique to identify adult body mass trajectory groups, risk factors for group membership and (time-varying) modifiers of trajectory level within each group, and assess association between group membership and important health outcomes in midlife., Methods: Body mass trajectory groups, from age 18 to 49 years, were identified using latent-class growth modelling based on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (n = 9681). Role of gender, race/ethnicity and age cohort as risk factors for group membership, and of highest grade of education completed, years of urban living, years in employment, years in poverty and years married as modifiers of trajectory level was evaluated., Results: Four trajectory groups, 'normal weight', 'overweight', 'late adulthood obesity' and 'early adulthood obesity' were identified. Males, Blacks and those born later had higher odds of being in the three latter groups. More education and years married lowered the trajectory within each group. The prevalence of most health outcomes was lowest in the 'normal weight' group, somewhat greater in the 'overweight' group, greater again in the 'late adult obesity group' and highest in the 'early adulthood obesity' group., Conclusion: Regular body mass index screening and monitoring in early adult life may identify a person as belonging to one of these four groups early, and allow the individual and health-care providers opportunities to initiate behavioural or other interventions better tailored to the specific group.

Objectives: To determine the effect of body mass index (BMI) at old age and at age 50 on short-term survival among persons age 65 and older., Design: Cross-sectional, using the 4,791 respondents to the community interview of the 1994 National Long Term Care Survey (NLTCS)., Setting: United States of America., Participants: Persons age 65 and older who lived in community settings as of the 1994 NLTCS interview., Measurements: Short-term mortality was measured from the date of the 1994 NLTCS through year-end 1995. BMI (kg/m2) (at three points: 1994 NLTCS, 1 year before, age 50) and all other variables, including three other modifiable risk factors known to be related to mortality--cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and exercise--were based on self-report., Results: Both the unadjusted and adjusted nadirs of mortality in relation to BMI at old age were found in older persons with a BMI between 30 and 34.9; this was true for males and females in all age groups. The highest mortality rates were found for older persons with very low BMI (<18.5). In contrast, BMI at age 50 was positively related to mortality, with those in the lowest BMI category (<18.5) at age 50 having the lowest mortality. Persons who were obese at age 50 and who were no longer obese at the 1994 NLTCS had lower mortality than persons with stable weight., Conclusions: Weight reduction by middle-aged persons who are obese should be reinforced as a public health priority, because there is evidence that long-term weight loss results in better short-term survival. Further study of healthy older survivors to determine why they are not harmed by heavier weight in old age may provide useful insights into successful aging.

The relationship between place of birth and some health characteristics of the population of Ontario was investigated using data from the 1990 Ontario Health Survey. Adult respondents were categorized according to their region, sub-region, and country of birth. Multiple logistic and linear regression analyses indicated that immigrants were less frequently obese than were Canadian-born respondents (odds ratio [OR] = 0.75, confidence interval [CI] 0.63, 0.90), and Asians particularly so (OR = 0.56, CI 0.34, 0.91). Asians also more often had a low body mass index (OR = 3.40, CI 2.11, 5.50). Immigrants less frequently reported a health problem (OR = 0.74, CI 0.62, 0.88) than did respondents born in Canada, but they perceived their health less positively. Place of birth influences some health characteristics of the Ontario population. The differences observed need to be investigated further to develop health services adapted to the needs of the multi-cultural population of Ontario.

Objectives: To determine the average body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among people aged 20 to 64 years, to identify sociodemographic, lifestyle and health variables that correlate with overweight and obesity, and, through a comparison of the results with those from an earlier survey, to determine whether prevalence has changed over time., Design: Cross-sectional survey., Setting: Ontario., Participants: The 1990 Ontario Health Survey surveyed 61,239 people representative of the Ontario population. The authors' analyses were restricted to those aged 20 to 64 years, excluding pregnant women. In the multivariate analyses they included only people with no missing values for any of the variables in the models (n = 26,306)., Outcome Measures: BMI (weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared) was used to measure healthy weight (BMI between 20 and 25), overweight (BMI greater than 25) and obesity (BMI greater than 27)., Results: The prevalence of obesity among men and women was 33.6% and 22.8% respectively (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.63 to 1.95). There was a positive relation with age (adjusted OR 1.53 [95% CI 1.24 to 1.89] for age 25 to 29 years and 2.78 [95% CI 2.20 to 3.51] for age 50 to 54 years compared with age 20 to 24 years) and an inverse relation with education level (postsecondary education v. primary education: adjusted OR 0.65 [95% CI 0.54 to 0.79]). Analysis of birthplace showed that the prevalence of obesity was lowest among those born in Asia (compared with Canadian born: adjusted OR 0.36 [95% CI 0.27 to 0.47]). The prevalence was higher among former smokers than among those who had never smoked (adjusted OR 1.20 [95% CI 1.18 to 1.22]). People with more health problems and those who rated their health as fair or poor were more likely to be obese. The estimates of the prevalence of obesity were higher than those reported in the 1985 Health Promotion Survey for both sexes in all three age groups examined., Conclusions: These self-reported data indicate that overweight and obesity remain important health problems in Ontario, and the prevalence appears to be increasing.