Ryder JR, et al. - In this longitudinal study of 480 people, researchers analyzed the change in BMI from childhood and adolescence and the development of obesity into adulthood. The study sample consisted of people with height and weight measures in childhood (mean age 7 years), repeated in adolescence (mean age 16 years) and adulthood (mean age 39 years). Investigators found that adult obesity (%) increased with childhood weight status and adolescence similarly. In children and adolescents who have overweight or obesity, high risk for adult obesity were noted. Most obese adults had a 50-85 percentile of BMI as children. Those who did not move between childhood and adolescence to a higher weight status had a lower likelihood of adult obesity.