Research
Energy balance
Abdominal obesity is more strongly predicted by adolescent physical inactivity than overall obesity, and self-perceived poor fitness in adolescence is a significant independent risk factor for adult abdominal obesity.
Don't just look at the scale. If you were inactive as a teenager, you are at high risk for abdominal fat, which is dangerous for your health. You can mitigate this risk by staying active. Measuring your waist circumference is just as important as your weight.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The risk for abdominal obesity in adulthood was almost fivefold (4.8, 1.9–12.0) even after adjusting for adult BMI... Self-perceived poor fitness in adolescence also captured the high risk for overall (5.1) and abdominal obesity (3.2) in adulthood.
Why this rating
Large sample size (4,240 individuals) with longitudinal data and adjustment for confounders.
Source
Physical Inactivity and Obesity: A Vicious Circle
Kirsi H. Pietiläinen et al. · Obesity · 2008
DOI 10.1038/oby.2007.72
cohort · n=4240Cited 393×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Persistent physical inactivity during adolescence (ages 16-18) strongly and independently predicts the development of adult obesity and abdominal obesity by age 25, establishing a causal link between early sedentary behavior and later adiposity.Good
- Once obesity is established, it creates a self-perpetuating vicious circle where obese individuals exhibit significantly lower physical activity levels and avoid high-intensity exercise, leading to lower total energy expenditure relative to body mass despite higher basal metabolic rates.Good
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