Young, but not Invincible

Obesity and chronic health problems in young adults

To be young is to feel immortal and invincible. But it means young adults often ignore risk factors associated with the development of chronic diseases commonly believed to be associated with middle-age.

However, studies paint a picture of increasing obesity in young adults, which in turn is contributing to increased rates of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, type II diabetes and polycystic ovarian syndrome. But these diseases not only affect the obese, but can also have future negative health impacts on young adults who appear lean and healthy but have poor eating habits and are physically inactive.

In 2009, 17.9 per cent of Canadian adults, approximately 4.4 million, were classified as obese — which means a body mass index of 30 or greater — according to Statistics Canada. From 2003 to 2009, obesity among men increased from 16 per cent to 19 per cent, and among women it rose from 14.5 per cent to 16.7 per cent. When adults who were overweight were factored in, 59.2 per cent of Canadian men and 43.9 per cent of Canadian women were considered at an increased health risk due to excess weight.

According to Dr. André Corriveau, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health with Alberta Health and Wellness, a lot of work must be done to stop the progression of obesity and to reverse the trend so that obesity rates begin to fall back to normal ranges. And doctors are turning their attention on the youth, where they see the root of the problem.

“The focus on the national level is very much on childhood obesity because it is basically the starting point and we know that a large proportion of kids and especially adolescents who are obese will remain obese during their lifetime and they will also experience the negative health impacts of obesity much earlier,” Corriveau said.

Donna Vine, a professor in the U of A’s Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, agrees that childhood obesity should be the primary target to stop the rise in obesity. Her research focuses on dyslipidemia (high blood cholesterol levels) and its relationship to the development of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome and pre-diabetes. In the past few years she has seen an increase in obesity among children, which can lead to a greater chance of the child developing a chronic disease later on. These obese children enter their teen years and then adulthood with predisposing factors such as high blood glucose, dislipidemia or high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, sometimes referred to as “bad” cholesterol.

“It takes 30 to 40 years to develop a cardiovascular disease blockage of an artery then you get a myocardial infarction (heart attack) or a stroke. So it is actually starting right down in childhood and teenage years and into early adulthood,” Vine said.

Vine believes that many of the early indicators of cardiovascular disease or type II diabetes go undetected in young adults which is a major problem.

“You are almost protected in adolescence and as a young adult because you seem healthy, you look healthy and unless you are severely overweight you don’t really see a health impact at that time, but then when you slip into your 30s or 40s you may start to develop actual symptoms that are then diagnosed,” Vine said.

Vine hopes recommendations will be made to screen younger age groups for things that might indicate a risk of developing a chronic disease, such as high levels of LDL cholesterol, high insulin or glucose levels or low HDL cholesterol. The idea is that the earlier a risk is identified, the easier it is to intervene with diet or exercise before symptoms of a chronic disease appear.

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