Putting on extra pounds as a young adult could lead to extra health problems later and reduce physical and financial well-being, according to a seminar held at Syracuse University on Friday.

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs professor Christine Himes presented ‘Obesity and Health in Later Life’ in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons at E.S. Bird Library, the first seminar of this semester’s Center for Health and Behavior Seminar Series.

The monthly series, which kicked off Friday, is intended to ‘promote the research of colleagues on and off campus and increase dialogue on a range of health and behavior topics,’ said Deputy Director Rebecca Bostwick.

In her lecture, Himes, a professor of sociology and director of the Center for Policy Research at Maxwell, said it is a troubling trend that the health of the young is no longer improving.

This generation is more likely to experience chronic conditions like hypertension, heart disease and cancer than previous ones, she said. Himes said these conditions are often correlated with weight gain at a young age.

‘If you’re now gaining weight in your 20s, you’re likely to maintain that weight later in life,’ she said.

Although the obese are more likely to manage their health problems, they are at a higher risk of developing the kinds of chronic conditions that worsen with age, she said.

Alongside chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, obesity in children and young adults increases mortality because it is difficult to reverse, Himes said.

Since habits formed in our young adult years tend to carry on through the rest of our lives, Himes said, students must be conscious of controlling their weight early on. One of Himes’ ongoing studies shows while a large number of elderly patients are capable of recovering from declines in health, the obese patients among them are less likely to recover from such declines.

Obesity not only causes chronic health problems, but also brings economic and social disadvantages, Himes said. Obese adults tend to work fewer hours, take more sick days and hold lower-paying jobs.

The obese are one of the few social groups in America that still experience open employer discrimination, Himes said. Some employers stigmatize obese workers as less competent, less conscientious and more emotionally unstable than average workers.

Although it is a national concern, Himes said the complex nature of obesity makes it difficult for policymakers to solve.

‘For a long time, people were trying to find the one thing that causes obesity,’ she said. ‘We’ve seen that there’s not one cause. It’s something that’s beyond individual control.’

Much of Himes’ work involves providing the background data that allows policymakers to draft public health legislation, she said. Part of that task is communicating to policymakers that obesity is far too complex for a single answer.

T.J. Stone, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said more physical activity could be an answer to the problem. Stone said he visited the seminar because of his deep interest in fitness. Stone, who ran cross country, did indoor and outdoor track in high school and practiced karate since age 6, said he plans to try cross country at SU this winter.

‘The way things are going now, I think people should be going out and getting fit, instead of partying and laying around at home,’ Stone said.

The next seminar in the series, ‘Environmental Toxicants and Children’s Health: Bridging Multiple Fields,’ will be held Oct. 15 in Bird and presented by Brooks Gump, an associate professor in the College of Human Ecology.

geclarke@syr.edu

Published on September 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm