Obese patients older than 60 years of age can lose as much weight as younger people only through lifestyle changes, according to a new study by the University of Warwick NHS Trust and the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW). The study shows that age is not a hurdle to lose weight.
The researchers hope their findings will help correct prevalent misconceptions of society about the effectiveness of weight loss programs for older people, as well as to destroy myths about the potential benefits of these programs for older people trying to lose weight.
The study
The findings are based on a review of patient records from an obesity service at a hospital, and are published in the journal Clinical Endocrinology. This retrospective study was carried out at the Warwickshire Institute for the Study of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (WISDEM) at the UHCW. The researchers randomly selected 242 patients who attended the WISDEM-based obesity service between 2005 and 2016, and compared two groups (individuals under 60 years of age and individuals between 60 and 78 years of age) based on how much weight they lost while they attended the service.
The body weight of all patients was controlled before and after the lifestyle interventions managed and coordinated within the WISDEM-based obesity service, and the percentage reduction in body weight was calculated for both groups.
In comparison, both groups were statistically equivalent. Individuals 60 years of age and older reduced their body weight by 7.3% on average compared to a 6.9% body weight loss in individuals younger than 60. Both groups spent a similar amount of time in the obesity service, 33.6 months on average for individuals 60 and older, and 41.5 months for individuals under 60.
The hospital program used only lifestyle-based changes fitted to each individual patient, focusing on dietary changes, psychological support, and the promotion of physical activity. Most of the patients referred to the obesity service were morbidly obese with a BMI typically above 40 kg/m2.
There are more than 50 obesity comorbidities that can be reduced as we lose weight, including diabetes, psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety, osteoarthritis, and other mechanic problems. Obesity is also linked to increased mortality and poor wellbeing.
The conclusions
Lead author Dr. Thomas Barber, University of Warwick Warwick School of Medicine, said: “Weight loss is important at any age, but as we get older, we are more likely to develop weight-related comorbidities of obesity. Many of these are similar to the effects of aging, so you could argue that the relevance of weight loss increases as we age, and this is something we should accept.
There are a number of reasons why people underestimate weight loss in older adults. These include an ‘ageism’ perspective that weight loss is not relevant to older people and misconceptions about the reduced ability of older people to lose weight through diet modification and the belief that older people may think that hospital services to treat obesity are not for them. Service providers and policy makers must appreciate the importance of weight loss for older people with obesity, for good health and wellbeing, and to promote healthy aging. Moreover, age per se should not contribute to clinical decisions related to the implementation of lifestyle management for aged people.
Age should not be a hurdle to manage obesity in lifestyle. Rather than setting barriers for older people to access weight loss programs, we should proactively simplify that process. Otherwise, we would run the risk of unnecessarily abandoning the elderly through erroneous concepts of social discrimination”.
Link: https://www.sochob.cl/web1/la-edad-no-es-una-barrera-para-una-perdida-de-peso-exitosa/
Date: November 24th, 2020
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com
Reference: Leyden E, Hanson P, Halder L, et al. Older age does not influence the success of weight loss through the implementation of lifestyle modification. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2020 Oct 22.
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