Early-onset obesity and the unwanted promise of thrombosis

Abstract

Obesity is rapidly becoming a global epidemic of unparalleled proportions. While the initial alarm was sounded by the National Center for Health Statistics in 1994 (reviewed in Ref. [1]), changes in body mass index have accelerated rapidly in the past 5 years among children, adolescents and adults. In addition to its association with several atherogenic states, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, systemic hypertension and dyslipidemia, obesity is an independent and strong risk factor for thrombosis as a proximate cause of stroke, myocardial infarction and venous thromboembolism [2, 3]. Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey support a 2 to 3-fold increased risk for both obese men and women, particularly in those who are less than 40 years of age [4]. With obesity comes the unwanted promise of thrombosis among an entire generation of people with childhood and adolescent (early) onset obesity. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.