�Research carried out at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England has discovered that obesity in later life does not ca-ca a substantial difference to risks of death among older people but that it is a major contributor to increased disablement in later life - creating a ticking time bomb for health services in developed countries.
The research is published in the August 2008 edition of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The Peninsula Medical School research team worked with data on just under 4,000 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cured 65 and older and living in the biotic community. Each player had their weight and height measured and their BMI (body mass index) 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 ("gravely obese").
The results showed that the higher an older person's BMI, the more likely he or she was to develop mobility problems (measured using a standard performance test) or to develop difficulty carrying out everyday tasks. The results also showed that, in older people, the link between higher BMI and the risk of infection of demise is weak - only severely weighty older workforce seemed to run this increased hazard.
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 ar overweight go a higher risk of death and it was presumed that this held true for older people. In fact, our results show that the risk of anxious is higher only for the most severely rotund but that all senior people wHO are corpulence are at significantly increased risk of developing problems with mobility and carrying out casual tasks."
He added: "This research is important because a maturation proportion of the population is cured 65 or over, and more and more of these older people ar overweight. In fact, in most developed countries middle-aged and aged adults ar more likely to be obese than people in any other age chemical group. These findings have immense significance for the delivery of health care, both now and in the future. Increasing numbers of older people and higher levels of overweight and obesity testament lead to a greater burden of disability and ill health and blank space an immense strain on health and social services. The issuing is likely to receive worse as time goes on and represents a ticking clip bomb for health services around the world."
The research squad recommends that older people should talk to their doctor or other health care professional about their weight, and take their advice regarding slimming down pat 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 unit can be a fun and relatively easy thing to do, even as people contract older. People don't have to join a gymnasium or take on complicated new diets. There ar many everyday opportunities to stay active through veritable walking, gardening or social groups, patch eating unused, nutritious food for thought is enjoyable at whatever age.
"Our experience of running supported walking and cycling groups has shown that senior people benefit in many ways from regular physical activity. Not only do they get fitter and physically stronger but the enjoyment of spending time with friends in the open airwave can give new confidence and a real zestfulness for aliveness.
"People are living thirster but this study shows that overindulgence weight can have a real wallop on the quality of people's lives which crapper reduce the benefit of those spear carrier years. We must do all we can to encourage aged friends or relatives to build enjoyable exercise into their daily routine and develop good habits ourselves to carry into our retirement years. People canful visit hTTP://www.strollbacktheyears.info or http://www.healthpromcornwall.org (01209 313419) for more advice."
Dr Gill Lewendon, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Plymouth Teaching PCT, added: "This report highlights the job of fleshiness in an increasingly aging population. The PCT and City Council work closely 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 are already identical overweight or obese, the PCT provides a comprehensive weight direction service for people of all ages. "
More information is useable by logging on at http://www.pms.ac.uk.
The Peninsula Medical School is a junction entity of the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth and the NHS in the South West of England, and a better half of the Combined Universities in Cornwall. The Peninsula Medical School has created for itself an fantabulous national and international reputation for groundbreaking ceremony research in the areas of diabetes and obesity, neurological disease, child development and ageing, clinical training and health technology assessment.
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