The relationship of the age of onset of obesity to the success of its treatment in the adult.

1. A survey was done of 2333 men and women who claimed experience of slimming. 2. Their loss of weight was determined from their maximum stated weight and their present weight. The loss of weight was calculated as the percentage of the maximum weight and was related to the stated age of onset of obesity. 3. The results showed that those people in the survey who had been fat since childhood had lost just as much weight as those people who had become fat as adults. 4. These results suggest that the treatment of early-onset obesity may not be an unrealistic objective.