WEIGHT LOSS: still possible after 60 years!

The study is conducted with patients followed in an obesity ward (BMI> 40 kg / m2) in a hospital setting. Analysis of the data found no difference in weight loss between subjects under the age of 60 and participants aged between 60 and 78.

Debunking the myth about how difficult it is to lose weight in the elderly

In this era in which obesity is the first priority – with the COVID-19 epidemic – in public health, which today affects all age groups, but with an increasing prevalence of its comorbidities among the elderly, this result allows and should encourage overweight people over the age of 60 to embark on a weight loss program if needed.

Obese patients over the age of 60 can lose weight equivalent to that of younger people only by changing their lifestyle. Age is not an obstacle, neither to adhering to a healthy lifestyle, nor to associated weight loss.

The retrospective study is conducted at the Warwickshire Institute for the Study of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (WISDEM) with 242 patients followed in hospital and by a specialized team between 2005 and 2016, for their obesity. The researchers compared the weight loss results of the 2 age groups (under and over 60). The comparison reveals an equivalent weight loss between the 2 groups:

• people aged 60 and over who have reduced their body weight by an average of 7.3%,
• those under 60, having reduced their body weight by an average of 6.9%.

The weight loss program was based only on lifestyle changes adapted to each patient (changes in diet, psychological support and practice of physical activity).

“Over 50 comorbidities with obesity can be alleviated with weight loss”,

recalls lead author, Dr Thomas Barber of Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick, including diabetes, depression and anxiety, osteoarthritis, and other rheumatic disorders. Obesity is also linked to increased mortality and decreased well-being and life satisfaction.

“Weight loss is important at any age, but as we age we are more likely to develop comorbidities associated with obesity.”

The relevance of weight loss therefore increases with age! Age shouldn’t be an obstacle to lifestyle and obesity management, and policies and health care professionals should proactively facilitate this process, the authors conclude.