The deadliest age to gain weight

Putting on too many extra pounds before the age of 30 increases the risk of premature death by 70 percent, according to a new study.

Gaining weight in early adulthood could shave years off your life as you age.

A new study claims the consequences of putting on pounds in your late teens and 20s—and keeping them there—are more dire than the typical weight gain associated with middle-age spread later in life.

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden discovered that rapid weight gain between the ages of 17 and 29 led to a 70 percent higher risk of premature death compared to people who maintained a stable weight.

Increased weight was not the specific cause of death, the study noted, but the catalyst for health problems long associated with obesity, which affects 1 in 8 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The chief culprits: the early onset of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes, as well as Type 2 diabetes, digestive diseases, and certain cancers.

“The most consistent finding is that weight gain at a younger age is linked to a higher risk of premature death later in life, compared with people who gain less,” said epidemiologist Tanja Stocks, one of the Lund researchers.

The study, published in The Lancet, tracked the weight of more than 600,000 people in Sweden from 1963 to 2015. Ranging in age from 17 to 60, each participant’s weight was assessed at least three times over that time span.

Men and women alike gained an average of just under 1 pound a year. Study participants who gained weight at that pace from age 17 to 30, put on a total of just over 14 pounds and had an estimated 17 percent higher risk of premature death compared to those who maintained their weight throughout those years.

The research suggests that the metabolic “insults” absorbed by a body that accumulates weight when young are harder to reverse, even if the extra weight is shed years later. “The duration of obesity, rather than weight gain in late adulthood, may be the key factor underlying risk,” the Lund team concluded.

The Swedish findings coincide with the release of a study from Spain earlier this month that concluded the two simplest ways to drop pounds are a longer fast overnight and earlier morning and evening meals.

“Extending the overnight fast could help maintain a healthy weight if accompanied by an early dinner and an early breakfast,” said epidemiologist Luciana Pons-Muzzo of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobsal).

“We think this may be because eating earlier in the day is more in line with circadian rhythms,” Pons-Muzzo added, “and allows for better calorie burning and appetite regulation, which can help maintain a healthy weight.”

Taken together, both studies emphasize that a healthy weight can lead to a longer, healthier life. “Preventing weight gain in early adulthood should be a public health priority,” the Lund researchers concluded, “as it is the most effective way to reduce the future burden of obesity-related diseases.”

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This post originally appeared at inc.com.

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