A research study in U.S. on obese children and teenagers indicates individuals' early years offer signs of a lifetime of obesity problems.

According to the BBC, Dr. John Harrington of the Eastern Virginia Medical School said more than 50 percent of the obese children and teenagers his team studied were already overweight before they were 2 years old.

25 percent of the total 100 subjects were overweight by 5 months of age and 90 percent were overweight by the time they turned 5 years old.

BBC further reported that all of the study's subjects were overweight before they hit 10 years of age. The subject group had an average age of 12.

Harrington asked the medical community to pay more attention to the results of the study, additional specifics of which were not released.

Harrington said," Too often, doctors wait until medical complications arise before they begin treatment. Getting parents and children to change habits that have already taken hold is a monumental challenge fraught with roadblocks and disappointments.” (With Input from Agencies)