The finding is causing concern among health experts, who point out that Australians aged 25 to 34 are gaining more weight each year than any other age group.
In a trend attributed to lifestyle changes during a period when young adults tend to join the workforce, drop sporting activities and take responsibility for their own food choices, this group typically put on an average of nearly seven kilograms over a decade.
The revelations come as Australian researchers find that programs designed to prevent young people from becoming overweight or obese in the first place are not working.
To illustrate the severity of the consequences of being overweight or obese, Canadian researchers reviewed nearly 4,000 patients’ medical data and translated the weight-related health problems of heart disease and diabetes into years of life lost.
Their study, published in medical journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, concluded that the heaviest people with a body mass index (BMI) of over 35 could die up to eight years earlier – or lose up to 19 healthy years, meaning their final years alive would be severely blighted by sickness.
“The effect of excess weight on years of life lost was greatest for young individuals and decreased with increasing age,” the researchers said.
The pattern was repeated in those with a BMI of 30 to 35, who could expect to be buried up to six years earlier, while overweight people with a BMI of 25 to 30 lost up to three years.
The biggest reason for the dramatic decline of expected longevity and quality of life was heart disease, which is Australia’s number one killer.
Nutrition researcher Margaret Allman-Farinelli, from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, told Fairfax Media that young adulthood was the weight gain “danger” time.
An analysis she led of trials aimed at avoiding weight gain in young adults showed only half helped in the short term. Published in Obesity Reviews, it revealed most didn’t follow up with participants after six months or report important data.
“Once overweight, most people are on a trajectory of continual weight gain throughout their life,” she said.
