NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young children who are among the tallest for their age group are more likely than their shorter counterparts to become obese adults, researchers report.

Though the reason why is unclear, the association may be related in some way to maturity rates, suggests study author Dr. David S. Freedman, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

``Kids who are taller tend to mature earlier, and early maturing adolescents tend to be more at risk for obesity as adults,'' Freedman told Reuters Health.

While more studies are needed to confirm and explain the finding, Freedman said doctors may want to consider using height, in addition to weight and other measurements, when determining which youngsters need dietary modification and additional interventions to help prevent them from becoming obese in later life.

The researchers followed a group of 1,055 children who were enrolled in the Bogalusa Heart Study, an ongoing study of heart disease risk factors among children and young adults in Louisiana. The children were examined between the ages of 2 and 8 and then again during adulthood, an average of 18 years later.

Results showed that tall height in childhood predisposed people to obesity in adulthood, according to the report published in the online edition of the February issue of the journal Pediatrics. For instance, compared with children who were below average in height, those who were the tallest--with height in the 95th percentile for their age--were 2.5 times more likely to become obese adults, as determined by body mass index (BMI) scores of 30 or higher. BMI is a standardized measure of a person's weight in relation to height.

In addition, the tallest children were five times more likely during adulthood to have a skin-fold thickness measurement that indicated excessive body fat, results showed.

Not surprisingly, overweight children were much more likely than thinner kids to become obese adults. But even when the researchers accounted for obesity in childhood, they still found that tall height was an independent predictor of adult obesity.

``Particular attention should be given to kids who are both obese and tall for their age,'' Freedman said. ``They are much more likely to be obese adults.''

SOURCE: Pediatrics 2002;109:e23.

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