In this cohort study of 16, 523 community-dwelling healthy participants age 65 and over, 1256 died over a mean of 4.4 years of follow-up. Among men, loss of 5% to 10% of body weight and loss of more than 10% of body weight were associated with a 33% and 289% increase in mortality, respectively; among women, loss of 5% to 10% of body weight and loss of more than 10% of body weight were associated with a 26% and 114% increase in mortality, respectively… [end quote]
This was a very large longitudinal study. It was different from most other studies in that all the participants were healthy to start with.
The result that an elderly, healthy man who loses 10% of his body weight has almost 4 times the risk of death as a man who maintains a stable body weight is stunning. The authors hypothesize that the men have a higher risk (compared with women) because men’s weight is more concentrated in muscle and bone while women have more fat to lose.
Bottom line: Maintain a stable weight. A decline in appetite and/or unintentional weight loss could be prodromal of a serious disease, so see a doctor.
The warning about weight loss may not be very relevant to Jeff, who gets fat from overeating rich food on cruises but slims down when he cooks at home. Weight yo-yo probably isn’t not optimal but it’s different from unintentional weight loss on a consistent diet.
Wendy
I’m fat. I’ve been fat for about 25 years of my 70. I know that’s not healthy, so I’m deliberately changing my eating practices and my activities with a goal of getting down to what seems to be a healthy weight.
I’ve had ups and downs, but over the last few years I’ve lost about 30 pounds, which puts my close to being “overweight” in lieu of “obese” (according to BMI standards). I still have a long way to go, but even losing a pound a week makes a huge difference IF I’m willing to be disciplined (disciplined, not being obsessive/crazy about it).
So… I don’t think my weight loss plan is going to increase my yearly chance of dying, but to the contrary. On the other hand, I still figure I’m likely to die someday.
Rob
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
A deliberate, healthy weight-loss program coupled with exercise to maintain bone density and lean muscle mass would not be the kind of weight loss the article is discussing. Very few people have the self-discipline to successfully pull this healthy program off over the long term.
The article discusses weight loss in the context of increasing frailty. That would be unintentional weight loss due to loss of appetite and/ or underlying illness.
Fortunately, this is not the kind of weight loss you are achieving.
Dunno… I was a bit surprised how hard it was to load two holly bushes in the car this afternoon… and then carry them to the back of the property (too lazy to pump up the tire on the wheelbarrow).
A wake up call on my relatively frail condition! Compared to what I expect anyway. Need to get back to lifting weights after I get done planting all the hollies, tea olives and the magnolia.
Rob
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Thing is, with endevours like this you can see both the strengths and weaknesses of large scale observational studies. Strengths…well, the big numbers. A large scale study always feels more solid with bigger numbers. The weaknesses lie in lack of detail and nuance.
The title is the TL:DR example “…all cause mortality among healthy older adults”. This cohort wasn’t necessarily determined to be healthy after an exhaustive battery of tests but rather the ones remaining in the pool when those who actually had a documented history of CVD, dementia, etc.etc. had been excluded.
Similar studies have hit the internet fan over the years and oftentimes inferred to mean that fatter is healthier without any mention of the fact that a good many people die after a period of weight loss caused by the dosease that kills them. Sometimes an undiagnosed disease.
At this point two years of success is the longer term.
It would be nice to lose another 30 lb. I am using folic acid and that is working but I do not know how well yet. My BIL an endocrinologist has suggested one of the new weight loss drugs. I am going to look into it. My BIL ten years ago when I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 was against all the drugs in principle at that time except Metformin as long as it worked. He is not pushing pills.
I have gone back to my gym. The winter is over and physically I feel an awokening for those who need to be woke as well.
Fair enough on the “healthy older adults” but after age 70 when an unintended weight loss happens an illness is setting in often. The problem is the mortality rate of a 70 to 76 year age group may not be that high necessarily but the study is not really telling us what percentage fell ill after being “healthy older adults”.
You mean one of those drugs that are apparently in such short supply diabetics can’t get hold of them because of the folk who’re using them for weight loss
I imagine that people who suddenly start losing that much weight at that age will often have undiscovered cancer, heart failure or some other horrible disease. I expect that this statistic will improve greatly as Ozempic and Mounjaro make weight loss easy.
Ozempic was not licensed for weight loss, but in 2021 the FDA approved semaglutide, its active ingredient, under the brand name Wegovy for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight with at least one related condition - such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol.
Like other GLP-1s—such as Saxenda®, Wegovy®, and Rybelsus®—Ozempic® is a medication that makes it easier to lose weight and stick to healthy habits. However, it doesn’t produce weight loss on its own: It must be used in combination with other tactics to support metabolic health and avoid weight regain. These tactics may include modifications to what you eat, how and when you exercise, and other healthy lifestyle changes.
My diet and exercise was changing with the weather as it was for the better at that.
I looked into folic acid and threw away the supplement. I have taken it for about four days. The cancer risk is too high.
When GLP-1 agonists are prescribed for T2D isn’t it usually when patients are unable to achieve good glycemic control by the currently available medications (including insulin)? This isn’t your situation, surely.
BTW, it would be a mistake to infer I’m suggesting that it’s somehow “bad form” to want to take any iteration of these drugs for weight loss alone. Quite the reverse. Depending upon the genetic hand one’s been dealt, it’s entirely possible for a weight gain of a mere 20-30lbs to put a person on the fast track to metabolic syndrome and all its trappings so I’m not the one to be judgemental about anything that puts this into reverse (as I mentioned in the thread on this topic a few days ago) Plus, along with Wendy, I’m well aware of the accountability and discipline needed for weight control in an obesogenic environment … so my sympathies are certainly with anyone struggling.
[quote=“AdvocatusDiaboli, post:14, topic:91187, full:true”] I expect that this statistic will improve greatly as Ozempic and Mounjaro make weight loss easy.
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Looking optimistically, I think I’m with you here. Forgetting the moralizing over the notion of “taking the easy way out”, this looks set to be the sort of drug regimen that aids and abets the prevention of a situation (metabolic syndrome and its consequences) that the drug would be used for anyway once that dire situation is reached, right? Along with the treatment that’s involved with heart attacks, strokes, peripheral vascular disease, NAFLD etc.
Welcome to the world of the Chronologically Enriched. Here’s but one article Peter Attia has sent me (with true generosity of spirit) on this very topic.
There’s an adage in the exercise world…“You grow up until your 20s…and then you grow old!” The reason why Master Athlete designation begins at 35, I guess. Thing is with even healthy aging, it’s a relatively slow pace early on, gets progressively faster and then speeds up exponentially beginning in about the mid 60s, according to my pal Peter. Although, I understood this as a reality, I didn’t notice it with myself because of the extensive long term training I’d done and continued with. I was totally blindsided by how just a few weeks of being hors de combat after my lapiplasty at the end of October 2020 seemed to have robbed me of every fast twitch muscle fiber I had.
Had a discussion along these lines with my cardiologist on Monday. My 6 months follow up after beginning Repatha. That’s another thing that blindsided me…the degree of coronary artery blockage I discovered just before my 70th birthday. Discussing my exercise regimen and tolerance, it’s apparent that all the teaching, test driving my classes and my own training that I did throughout my 50s and most of my 60s, is what’s kept me stent free…and with the ability to continue doing it.
Peter Attia’s thing is longevity. Specifically what he calls the Centenarian Decathlon. Not literally but rather a list of the things that one would like to still be able to do in the “marginal years”…say the last 5. Analogy being akin to a financial planning regimen I guess. You have to adopt meaningful habits early …or you’ll need to have a financial plan that makes Dave Ramsey look like a spendthrift.
