Teen pregnancy linked to obesity

Young women who experience pregnancy during their teens are more likely to become obese or overweight later on in life, a new study finds. Pregnancy boosts obesity risk in every woman; the study however reveals that getting pregnant and giving birth to a child in early adolescence has a greater impact on the body weight and fat accumulation. "The excessive fat deposition during adolescence may signal the onset and persistence of obesity and elevated insulin, lipid and blood pressure levels into adulthood," said Erica P. Gunderson the leader of the research team. According to the study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the majority of the women who give birth for the first time before age 20 are overweight or obese. These women are also reported to be more prone to developing cardiovascular diseases. Women who had one or more babies during their teens are heavier and have larger waists and hips compared to their counterparts who did not get pregnant in the same period. Scientists concluded that adolescence is a critical stage which delineates an individual's risk of obesity in the long run in various means.