Obese Live Just as Long but are More Likely to be Disabled
in Old Age
New research shows obese adults who reach the age of 70 are
at no greater risk of dying than their non-obese counterparts, but they
do have a much greater probability of spending their remaining years disabled,
according to the August 2005 issue of The Gerontologist.
Previous investigations had focused on the impact of obesity
on either mortality or the onset of disability, but lead author Sandra Reynolds
of the University of South Florida School of Aging Studies sought to consider
them together. She was joined on the study by Yasuhiko Saito of Japan’s
Nihon University and Eileen M. Crimmins of the Andrus Gerontology Center
at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
The team defined disability as having difficulty performing
one or more activities of daily living (ADLs), such as walking across a
room, bathing, eating, dressing, toileting, or transferring in or out of
bed. Those who could perform all ADLs were considered active.
Observing more than 7,000 seniors, they reported statistical
information separately by gender. At 70 years old, the men in the group
could expect to live 12.3 years if they were non-obese and 12.4 if they
were obese. The non-obese men could expect to live 9.8 active years and
2.5 disabled years. However, the obese men could only expect to live 8.4
active years and 4.0 years with disability.
In the same sample, women aged 70 could expect to live 15.3
years if they were nonobese and 15.5 years if they were obese. These women
averaged 10.5 active years and 4.8 disabled years if they were nonobese,
but the obese women only averaged 8.1 active years and 7.4 disabled years.
This research supports recent assertions by the Centers for
Disease Control that prior estimates of obesity’s effects on mortality
may have been over-estimated. However, it also indicates, while obesity
may not decrease the quantity of your life, it is almost certain to decrease
the quality of your later years.
The Gerontological Society of America, 8-2-05
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