More than half the two-year-old children alive today in the US are on track to be obese in their 30s, a study has found.
Researchers estimated that if current trends continue, 57 per cent of American toddlers will fall into the obese category by the time they are 35.
The same study found that excess childhood weight is a strong warning sign of adult obesity, even at a very young age.
US lead researcher Zachary Ward, from the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health in Boston, said: "Our findings highlight the importance of prevention efforts for all children as they grow up, and of providing early interventions for children with obesity to minimise their risk of serious illness in the future."
The team analysed height and weight data from five US studies involving 41,567 children and adults. The results appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.
