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Health consequences of obesity in the elderly
Health consequences of obesity in the elderly -- Posted by Sweet Zombie Jesus! on 06-01-05 08:26
Obesity prevalence is growing progressively even among older age
groups. Controversy exists about the potential harms of obesity in the
elderly. Debate persists about the relation between obesity in old age
and total or disease-specific mortality, the definition of obesity in
the elderly, its clinical relevance, and about the need for its
treatment.
Knowledge of age-related body composition and fat distribution changes
will help us to better understand the relationships between obesity,
morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Review of the literature
supports that central fat and relative loss of fat-free mass may become
relatively more important than BMI in determining the health risk
associated with obesity in older ages. Weight gain or fat
redistribution in older age may still confer adverse health risks (for
earlier mortality, comorbidities conferring independent adverse health
risks, or for functional decline).
Evaluation of comorbidity and weight history should be performed in the
elderly in order to generate a comprehensive assessment of the
potential adverse health effects of overweight or obesity. The risks of
obesity in the elderly have been underestimated by a number of
confounders such as survival effect, competing mortalities, relatively
shortened life expectancy in older persons, smoking, weight change and
unintentional weight loss.
Identification of elderly subjects with sarcopenic obesity is probably
clinically relevant, but the definition of sarcopenic obesity, the
benefits of its clinical identification, as well as its relation to
clinical consequences require further study.
Studies on the effect of voluntary weight loss in the elderly are
scarce, but they suggest that even small amounts of weight loss
(between 5-10% of initial body weight) may be beneficial. In older as
well as in younger adults, voluntary weight loss may help to prevent
the adverse health consequences of obesity.
Health consequences of obesity in the elderly: a review of four
unresolved questions.Zamboni M, Mazzali G, Zoico E, Harris TB, Meigs
JB, Di Francesco V, Fantin F, Bissoli L, Bosello O. 1Division of
Geriatric Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.International
Journal of Obesity advance online publication, 31 May 2005;
doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803005.
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