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Obesity in Older Adults Tied to Dozens of Health
Problems
Nov. 22, 2004 – A study of over 73,000 older adults
has found obesity is linked to a large number of poor health problems.
Carrying extra weight was tied to 37 of the 41 health conditions studied
in women and 29 of 41 conditions in men.
Highly obese women are 12 times more likely to have
diabetes or knee replacement surgery, and five times more likely to have
high blood pressure than women who are at a normal weight, says a new
study.
Men in the highest weight categories are eight
times more likely to have diabetes, and six times more likely to have a
knee replaced or have high blood pressure than are their normal-weight
peers, say researchers for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in
Seattle.
The researchers drew their conclusions from
information provided by 73,003 adults aged 50 to 76 who lived in western
Washington state.
The researchers correlated obesity with 41 health
conditions, including life-threatening conditions like heart failure;
some, like high blood pressure, that increase the risk of more serious
diseases; and health complaints that reduce the quality of life, like
insomnia or chronic fatigue, says lead author Ruth E. Patterson, Ph.D.,
R.D.
The study appears in the December issue of the
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. "No other study has provided
data on the association of obesity with such a compendium of health
conditions," Patterson says.
In addition to diabetes, knee replacement and high
blood pressure, highly obese women were also more likely to have a
history of heart failure, gall bladder removal, pulmonary embolism,
chronic fatigue and insomnia. However, these women also experienced
slightly lower levels of osteoporotic fractures and constipation,
Patterson says.
Highly obese men also experienced more heart
failure, fatigue, pulmonary embolism and insomnia, but slightly lower
rates of enlarged prostate.
Doctors should consider the diverse ways that
increased weight affects their patients' health when they counsel or
treat them, Patterson says.
"Effective and practical public health approaches
to preventing weight gain and treating obesity are urgently needed," she
says.
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