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Baby Boomers Are Heavier, More Prone to Arthritis
Obesity hit boomers earlier than for the silent
generation
Aug. 15, 2005 - Baby-boomers have spent more years
living with more obesity than the previous generation, researchers at
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have found. Although it may
be too early to tell whether this will lead to a rise in arthritis
rates, the study shows more obesity-related arthritis among baby boomers
compared to the previous generation, now senior citizens.
The study, published in the September issue of the
American Journal of Public Health, concluded that obesity rates grew
substantially for the baby-boomer generation (born 1946-1965) when
compared to the silent generation (born 1926-1945). Obesity also
increased for the baby-boomers at a younger age than the silent
generation.
We found that the obesity epidemic has affected
both the baby-boomers and their predecessors but that the baby-boomers
got a much earlier start, and have spent more of their lives in an obese
state even though weve known that they have had better access to
nutrition and information about exercise for much of their lives, says
Suzanne Leveille, PhD, senior author of the study.
Arthritis risk soared along with the obesity rates
of the baby-boomers, and arthritis cases attributed to obesity rose from
3 percent to 18 percent between 1971 and 2002. Many factors can be
attributed to this rise, including the way physicians diagnose arthritis
over time, but researchers say the rise in obesity cannot be ignored.
Baby-boomers are just approaching the age when
arthritis rates begin to rise dramatically. Many baby-boomers have lived
with obesity for much of their lives. We can expect to see the health
and functional consequences of this epidemic in the coming decades,
says Leveille.
Public health strategies to address obesity and
arthritis management could have a major impact on the lives of aging
baby-boomers in the years to come.
The researchers used data collected by the US Bureau of the Census and
the National Center for Health Statistics. The researchers explored the
1980 to 2000 decennial censuses and the results from the 1971 to 2002
National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).
In addition to Leveille, study co-authors included
BIDMC investigators Christina Wee, MD, MPH, and Lisa Iezzoni, MD, MSc.
The authors are all with the Division of General Medicine and Primary
Care at BIDMC and the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
This study was supported by grants from the
Arthritis Foundation, the National Bureau of Economics Research, the
National Institute on Aging and the Lasker Foundation.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a major
patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School,
and ranks third in National Institutes of Health funding among
independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with
the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a founding member of the
Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the
Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit
http://www.bidmc.harvard.edu.
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