Obesity is known to cause many serious health problems, such as cancer, heart disease and stroke. There is now a new disease to add to the list – Multiple Sclerosis. MS is a serious disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause eventual loss of vision, speech and total paralysis.

The results of a 40 year study by Harvard School of Public Health have recently been published which conclude that women who are obese at the age of 18 are twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis as those who are healthy.

It was also found that women who are just obese later in life are not more likely to develop MS. Being obese at 18 years old is the trigger in increased risk, and even following a healthier life in adulthood does not reduce the increased risk. It seems that once the damage is done at 18 years old it is too late to reverse.

“Our results suggest that weight during adolescence, rather than childhood or adulthood, is critical in determining the risk of MS. There’s a lot of research supporting the idea that adolescence may be an important time for development of disease, so what we have found is consistent with that. Teaching and practicing obesity prevention from the start – but especially during teenage years – may be an important step in reducing the risk of MS later in life for women.” Kassandra Munger, ScD, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

As this new research comes to light it is now more important than ever that we start to tackle childhood obesity now. If we continue to leave it to the children to take control of their own lives once they reach adulthood we put many more at risk of serious illness.