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Obesity prior to adulthood is linked with increased risk for death in middle-aged and elderly individuals, but whether this association holds true for those younger than age 50 is not known. Investigators analyzed body-mass index (BMI) and socioeconomic information collected from more than 2 million Israeli adolescents (aged 16–20; born 1950–1993; 59% male) during evaluations for compulsory military service and compared it with subsequent data on all-cause mortality prior to age 50. Individuals with preexisting medical conditions and those who died from military trauma were excluded.
Approximately 15,000 men and 3000 women died during follow-up (mean ages at death, 36 and 35, respectively). Among both sexes, higher and lower BMIs (especially…