(Press-News.org) LOMA LINDA, Calif. – While some past studies have shown that persons carrying a few extra pounds in their 70s live longer than their thinner counterparts, a new study that measured subjects' weight at multiple points over a longer period of time reveals the opposite.
Research from Adventist Health Studies recently published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society showed that men over 75 with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 22.3 had a 3.7-year shorter life expectancy, and women over 75 with a BMI greater than 27.4 had a 2.1-year shorter life expectancy. Generally, a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal weight, and a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.
Previous work in this area by others found a protective association for a high body weight among the elderly. Pramil N. Singh, DrPH, lead author of the paper and an associate professor in the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University, says the data from many past studies is problematic because only a single baseline measure of weight was taken, which does not account for weight changes or how weight changes affect life expectancy. Additionally, most past studies had mortality surveillance of fewer than 19 years, which analyses have shown to be an inadequate amount of time to study risks associated with weight.
"We had a unique opportunity to do 29 years of follow-up with a cohort that was also followed for mortality outcomes," Dr. Singh said. "Across this long period of time, we had multiple measures of body weight, which provided a more accurate assessment."
The study looked at 6,030 adults who never smoked and who were free of major chronic diseases at enrollment. It then examined only those adults who maintained a stable weight. This was done in an effort to exclude individuals who, for example, were in the normal weight category because they experienced significant weight loss due to a disease. Therefore their death would not have been related to their normal weight, but rather to the disease that caused them to reach normal weight.
"When you control for confounding by disease-related weight loss, overweight and obesity remain a risk for persons over the age of 75," Dr. Singh said. "This suggests that elderly individuals of normal weight should continue to maintain their weight."
Researchers noted a difference between genders in that men had a higher sensitivity to body fat than women. Men started to experience a greater risk of mortality at a BMI of 22.3, while this risk did not appear for women until a BMI of 27.4. One possible reason for the difference between genders, Dr. Singh said, is that body fat is the primary source of estrogen in post-menopausal females, and a minimum level of estrogen in those years can be protective against heart disease and hip fractures.
"This is not to say that extra weight is good for women over 75," Dr. Singh said, "but rather that the negative effects of extra weight in women over 75 appear at a higher weight than in males."
The study population itself is unique in that all were Seventh-day Adventists, who, because of church recommendations, are lifelong non-smokers, consume little if any alcohol, are more physically active, and consume less meat than the general population. This means those who maintained a lower BMI did so intentionally with healthy lifestyle choices rather than as a result of smoking for weight control or as a result of poverty-related factors. Dr. Singh said further studies are needed to understand the positive and negative effects of lifestyle patterns that help individuals maintain low body weight over long periods of time.
### END
Contrary to earlier findings, excess body fat in elderly decreases life expectancy
Elderly individuals should maintain a normal weight, suggests Loma Linda University research
2011-08-12
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
New Jersey's Foreclosure Mediation Program
2011-08-12
If you are facing foreclosure in New Jersey, you need to know what your options are. Where can you turn for assistance?
It's good to have a private attorney on your side. A lawyer experienced with foreclosure and debt relief issues can play a key role in helping your get your arms around what you need to do to keep your house.
In New Jersey, there is also the state's Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program. This program educates homeowners and broadens the options available to them.
Foreclosures Continue
In January of this year, RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure ...
Alcohol consumption in relation to acute pancreatitis
2011-08-12
A study on the effect of different alcoholic beverages and drinking behaviour on the risk of acute pancreatitis was conducted, using the Swedish Mammography Cohort and Cohort of Swedish Men, to study the association between consumption of spirits, wine and beer and the risk of acute pancreatitis.
In total, 84,601 individuals, aged 46-84 years, were followed for a median of 10 years, of whom 513 developed acute pancreatitis. There was a dose–response association between the amount of spirits consumed on a single occasion and the risk of acute pancreatitis. After multivariable ...
Mistaken Identity Rape Case in Massachusetts Finally Comes to an End
2011-08-12
Sexual assault charges can bring tremendous notoriety and an immediate risk to the accused offender's freedom. Law enforcement gives cases involving rape, child molestation, indecent assault and other sex crimes focused attention, and the police often rush to apprehend a suspect if the victim does not personally know the alleged assailant. This means that anyone matching the description given by the victim will be at risk for being accused and charged with the crime, particularly if that person is at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Such was the case when a so-called ...
Researchers decode workings of mysterious, but critical TB drug
2011-08-12
For nearly 60 years, Pyrazinamide (PZA) has been used in conjunction with other medications to treat tuberculosis (TB), but scientists did not fully understand how the drug killed TB bacteria. PZA plays a unique role in shortening the duration of current TB therapy to six months and is used frequently to treat multi-drug resistant TB. A new study, led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, suggests that PZA binds to a specific protein named RpsA and inhibits trans-translation, a process that enables the TB bacteria to survive under stressful ...
Effortless sailing with fluid flow cloak
2011-08-12
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke engineers have already shown that they can "cloak" light and sound, making objects invisible -- now, they have demonstrated the theoretical ability to significantly increase the efficiency of ships by tricking the surrounding water into staying still.
"Ships expend a great deal of energy pushing the water around them out of the way as they move forward," said Yaroslav Urzhumov, assistant research professor in electrical and computer engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. "What our cloak accomplishes is that it reduces the mass of fluid ...
New Federal Rules Will Advance Coal Mining Safety
2011-08-12
It has been just over a year since the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West Virginia killed 29 miners, and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has come out with proposed coal mining safety rule revisions. The proposal is intended to ensure that underground coal mine operators find and fix violations of mandatory health or safety standards, with an overall goal of improving miner health and safety.
This comes as MSHA releases the findings from its yearlong investigation of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion. MSHA assistant secretary Joseph A. Main ...
The Benefits of Outsourcing Your In-House Counsel
2011-08-12
Many small-business owners think their choice is between having in-house counsel or employing outside counsel for their legal needs. The fear inherent to this line of thinking is that, in reality, the choice becomes one of expensive in-house counsel or no legal counsel at all. However, a middle ground exists to provide solutions for a variety of business sizes and needs: outsourced in-house counsel services.
Almost all Business Decisions Have Legal Implications
When you are running your own business, to say you are busy is usually an understatement. From day-to-day ...
Corn silage hybrids and seeding rates
2011-08-12
MADISON, WI, AUGUST 11, 2011 -- Recent studies report that corn hybrids released in the late 2000s, especially Bt hybrids, require higher seeding rates than commercial hybrids released in the 1990s to reach maximum yields. Expectedly, corn seeding rates in the USA have increased significantly in the past 10 years. However, limited data is available on silage yield and quality responses of recently released hybrids to seeding rates.
Cornell scientist William Cox investigated the response of eight hybrids (three Bt and a non-Bt hybrid, two brown midrib and two silage specific ...
Shooting light a curve
2011-08-12
One of the earliest lessons in science that students learn is that a ray or beam of light travels in a straight line. Students also learn that light rays fan out or diffract as they travel. Recently it was discovered that light rays can travel without diffraction in a curved arc in free space. These rays of light were dubbed "Airy beams," after the English astronomer Sir George Biddell Airy, who studied what appears to be the parabolic trajectory of light in a rainbow.
Now, scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have demonstrated the ...
Congress Continues Aggressive Efforts to Crack Down on Drunk- Driving Offenders
2011-08-12
Every day Congressional legislatives and authorities across the country are finding new ways to crack down on drunk driving. A recent bill would have allocated funds for a government-research project aimed at working with auto manufacturers to install a type of alcohol detection device inside future vehicles was recently on the table. The bill failed to pass the House and Senate, but it's likely legislators will continue to support and sponsor similar bills.
The Research of Alcohol Detection Systems for Stopping Alcohol-related Fatalities Everywhere (known as the ROADS ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision
Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response
Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid
Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia
Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients
Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years
Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations
New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients
New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans
Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production
New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination
Study examines lactation in critically ill patients
UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award
Doubling down on metasurfaces
New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders
Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana
PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation
ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy
How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease
A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet
Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice
Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast
Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds
The experts that can outsmart optical illusions
Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk
Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase
Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows
Unintentional drug overdoses take a toll across the U.S. unequally, study finds
A step toward plant-based gelatin
ECMWF unveils groundbreaking ML tool for enhanced fire prediction
[Press-News.org] Contrary to earlier findings, excess body fat in elderly decreases life expectancyElderly individuals should maintain a normal weight, suggests Loma Linda University research