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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Senior Citizens Face Double Whammy When It Comes to
Body Fat
Aging, obesity results in bigger body, less
lean mass among elderly
 Feb. 7, 2007 - When it comes to body fat, today's
older adults face a double whammy, according to new research from Wake
Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues. Up until age 80,
older adults not only gain fat as they age -- but because of the obesity
epidemic -- they actually begin their older years fatter. The result is
an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure,
arthritis and disability, according to Jingzhong Ding, M.D., Ph.D., lead
author and a researcher on aging at Wake Forest Baptist.
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The study, reported in the current issue of the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, focuses on changes in body
composition related to aging and in the population over time. It is
significant because the researchers used DEXA (dual-energy X-ray
absorptiometry) to measure actual body fat to determine the proportion
of fat versus lean mass (muscle and organs).
The measurements were made on 1,786
well-functioning older adults from Pittsburgh, Pa., and Memphis, Tenn.,
from 1997 to 2003. Participants were 70-79 at the time of enrollment, a
critical period for the development of disability. Body composition --
especially the combination of too much body fat and a decrease in muscle
-- is believed to contribute to disability.
"This study provides a better picture of
age-related changes in body composition and it's not a good picture,"
said Ding, an assistant professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine.
"It demonstrates that up until age 80, both older men and women gained
fat but lost lean mass each year. These age-related changes were
compounded by the obesity epidemic."
In addition to measuring the effects of aging on
body composition, the researchers also looked at the effects of the
obesity epidemic, which most scientists agree began in the late 1970s.
Between 1976-80 and 1999-2000, the rate of obesity doubled in older
adults.
The scientists divided participants into 10 groups
based on their birth years (from 1918 to 1927). They found that at the
same age, those born later -- who had spent more years during the period
when obesity was increasing -- had a higher percentage of body fat. For
example, among 80-year-old men, those born in 1927 had about 10 pounds
more fat and 3.75 pounds of muscle, compared to those born in 1918.
"The combined effects of aging and the obesity
epidemic results in bigger body size and less lean mass among the
elderly," said Ding. "This may lead to disability and other illnesses in
the elderly and could be dramatic in the coming years. It points out the
great public health importance of developing appropriate interventions
that target fat loss while preserving skeletal muscle to prevent
disability and other obesity-related illnesses."
Editor's Notes:
The research was supported, in part, by the
National Institute on Aging. The researchers analyzed data from the
Health Aging and Body Composition (ABC) Study, a large study
investigating the effects of body composition on morbidity, disability
and mortality in the elderly.
Other centers involved in the study were the
University of Pittsburgh, University of Queensland in Australia, UV
Medical Center in the Netherlands, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, University of California at San Francisco, University of
Tennessee Health Science Center, University of Florida and North
Florida/South Georgia Health System.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an
academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and
Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university's
School of Medicine. U.S. News & World Report ranks Wake Forest
University School of Medicine 18th in family medicine, 20th in
geriatrics, 25th in primary care and 41st in research among the nation's
medical schools. It ranks 35th in research funding by the National
Institutes of Health. Almost 150 members of the medical school faculty
are listed in Best Doctors in America.
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