However, obesity associated with increased mortality risk in those aged 75 to 84 years
THURSDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity does not increase mortality in elderly adults aged 85 years and older, according to an article published in the Journal of Aging Research.
To evaluate the age-related relationship between obesity and mortality risk, Jiska Cohen-Mansfield, Ph.D., and Rotem Perach, of Tel Aviv University in Israel, used data from 1,369 elderly people aged 75 to 94 years who participated in the Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study in Israel. The Israeli National Population Registry was used to obtain mortality data at 20-year follow-up.
The researchers found that, while obesity was a significant predictor of higher mortality in adults aged 75 to 84 years (hazard ratio for obese versus normal weight, 1.296; P = 0.030), for older subjects, obesity actually exhibited a nonsignificant trend toward having a protective effect (hazard ratio for obese versus normal weight, 0.944; P > 0.05). Being underweight consistently predicted mortality.
"With the increasing numbers of old-old persons and of their life expectancy, extra attention is often given to avoid obesity. Current findings suggest that such an emphasis may not apply to those advancing towards old-old age, at least as far as mortality is concerned," the authors write.
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