Overweight Children: 80% Remain Obese as Adults

Childhood and adolescent obesity is not simply the result of eating too much and exercising too little, the article says. It describes obesity as a chronic disease involving systems that regulate appetite and satiety, as well as the ways the body stores and uses energy.

The Korean Society for the Study of Obesity’s 2025 obesity fact sheet, released on May 7, found that children face up to 5.9 times the risk of obesity when both parents are obese. The risk for daughters rose as high as sevenfold. Genetic factors and the family’s living environment can work together, the article says.

The article argues that obesity should therefore be managed and treated, rather than viewed as a matter of willpower. It warns that the consequences of leaving it untreated can last into adulthood.

A large overseas cohort analysis that followed about 200,000 children and adolescents found that roughly 80% of those who were obese during adolescence remained obese as adults. The article also says complications linked to obesity can begin during the teenage years, citing a survey of obese students in South Korea.