�Research carried out at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England has discovered that corpulency in later life does not make a substantial difference to risks of death among older people but that it is a major contributor to increased disability in afterward life - creating a ticking time bomb for health services in developed countries.
The research is promulgated in the August 2008 edition of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The Peninsula Medical School research squad worked with data on just under 4,000 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) ripened 65 and older and living in the biotic community. Each participant had their weight and height careful and their BMI (torso mass index number) calculated and they were followed up for basketball team years. The researchers compared people with BMI of 20 to 24.9 (i.e. those of recommended weight), with those who had a BMI of 25 to 29.9 ("stoutness"), 30 to 34.9 ("obese"), or 35 or over ("severely obese").
The results showed that the higher an older person's BMI, the more than likely he or she was to develop mobility problems (deliberate using a standard performance test) or to grow difficulty carrying out daily tasks. The results likewise showed that, in older people, the link between higher BMI and the risk of death is weak - only severely obese older men seemed to course this increased risk.
Dr Iain Lang, wHO led the research from the Peninsula Medical School, commented: "We have known for some time that young and middle-aged adults who are overweight run a higher risk of death and it was presumed that this held true for older mass. In fact, our results show that the risk of anxious is higher only for the to the highest degree severely corpulent but that all older people wHO are stoutness are at significantly increased risk of developing problems with mobility and carrying out everyday tasks."
He added: "This enquiry is crucial because a growing dimension of the population is aged 65 or over, and more and more of these older people are corpulence. In fact, in to the highest degree developed countries middle-aged and elderly adults are more likely to be rotund than people in any other age group. These findings let huge implication for the delivery of health upkeep, both directly and in the next. Increasing book of Numbers of senior people and higher levels of stoutness and corpulency will lead to a greater onus of handicap and ill health and place an immense strain on wellness and societal services. The issue is likely to get worse as time goes on and represents a ticking time dud for health services around the world."
The research team recommends that older people should talk to their doctor or other health care professional about their weight, and take their advice regarding slimming down if they are adiposis. The advice may include more physical exercise, a change in diet, or both.
Lindley Owen, Consultant in Public Health at Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust, said: "Staying a healthy weight can be a fun and relatively soft thing to do, even as people get older. People don't have to join a gym or take on complicated new diets. There are many everyday opportunities to appease active through regular walking, gardening or social groups, while feeding fresh, nutrient food is enjoyable at any age.
"Our experience of running supported walking and cycling groups has shown that elder people benefit in many ways from regular physical activity. Not only do they get fitter and physically stronger but the enjoyment of spending clip with friends in the open air travel can give new confidence and a real tang for life.
"People are living longer only this study shows that excess free weight can have a real impact on the character of people's lives which can concentrate the welfare of those extra days. We must do all we behind to encourage older friends or relatives to build enjoyable use into their daily routine and develop good habits ourselves to take into our retirement years. People can gossip http://www.strollbacktheyears.info/ or hypertext transfer protocol://www.healthpromcornwall.org/ for more advice."
Dr Gill Lewendon, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Plymouth Teaching PCT, added: "This report highlights the problem of fleshiness in an increasingly senescence population. The PCT and City Council work close with a wide range of voluntary and statutory agencies to provide increased opportunities for everyone to eat more healthily and to move around a bit more. For those who ar already very overweight or obese, the PCT provides a comprehensive weight direction service for people of all ages. "
More information is available by logging on at http://www.pms.ac.uk/.
The Peninsula Medical School is a joint entity of the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth and the NHS in the South West of England, and a partner of the Combined Universities in Cornwall. The Peninsula Medical School has created for itself an excellent national and international reputation for groundbreaking research in the areas of diabetes and obesity, neurologic disease, child development and ageing, clinical education and health engineering assessment.
Source: Andrew Gould
The Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
More info
