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Obese adolescent boys are more likely to stay obese than girls
University of Melbourne Professor George Patton from the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital will present preliminary findings of research into adolescents and obesity at the Obesity Forum 2009 at Federation Square at 4pm today.
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Media Officer University of Melbourne 0417164 791
In a study of 2000 young Victorians, investigating how and why adolescents become overweight, results revealed;
• Adolescent boys are more likely to stay overweight into their twenties.
• Girls in their teens put a lot more effort in controlling their weight and for that reason are likely to have a normal weight in their early twenties
• Rates of overweight and obesity almost double between the ages 17 and 24 years
“The good news if a young person who has been overweight for less than 12 months persists with efforts to control weight – that can halve the likelihood for still being overweight at the age of 24, “ says Dr Patton.
Details will be published later this year in a forthcoming journal paper.
Professor George Patton also has an honourary appointment at Murdoch Childrens’ Research Institute.
The Obesity Forum 2009 is proudly supported by the Victorian Obesity Consortium. The Forum highlights research, and views of leaders in the field, to offer solutions around care and prevention of obesity and its co-morbidities. 8:30am-5:30pm Thursday 3 & 8:00am-5:00pm Friday 4 September, BMW Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne.
