Adipocyte size, adipose tissue fibrosis, macrophage infiltration and disease risk are different in younger and older individuals with childhood versus adulthood onset obesity.

Older adults with childhood-onset obesity, who had the greatest duration of obesity exposure, were particularly vulnerable to the cardiometabolic effects associated with perturbations in adipose tissue characteristics. These results suggest that age and age of obesity onset may have independent and cumulative effects on obesity pathology.