Obesity in adulthood is associated with increased risk of frailty later in life

both general abdominal obesity Middle-aged and older age is associated with an increased risk of physical frailty in older adults, according to new findings.

Researchers suggest that frailty is often misidentified as a purely debilitating disorder, highlighting the importance of maintaining an adequate weight throughout adulthood to minimize risk. I’m here.

“In a context of rapidly aging populations and an increasing prevalence of obesity, there is evidence to recognize a subgroup of older adults who are ‘fat and frail’, as opposed to simply viewing frailty as a debilitating disorder. It’s on the rise,” said lead author Shreeshti Uchai, EPH University of Oslo, Department of Nutrition. “…underscores the importance of regularly assessing and maintaining optimal BMI and WC throughout adulthood to reduce the risk of frailty in later life.”

Frailty is often characterized by at least 3 of the following 5 criteria, 1-2 pre-frailty: unintentional weight loss, fatigue, decreased grip strength, slow walking speed, and physical activity. decrease in level. Frailty is associated with vulnerability to falls, disability, poor quality of life, hospitalization and death.

The researchers noted growing evidence that obese older adults may be at increased risk, as obesity causes age-related declines in muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and physical function. However, few studies have tracked weight change and risk of frailty over time.

Using the population-based Tromsø study, researchers aimed to determine whether the general (body mass index) [BMI]) and abdominal (waist circumference) obesity separately or together may affect the risk of pre-frailty/frailty. It consists of 7 survey waves of 45,000 residents aged 25 to 99 who were surveyed. The current study used data from Wave 4 (1994-1995) to Wave 7 (2015-2016).

Their final analysis included 4,509 individuals aged 45 years or older, with a mean baseline age of 51 years and a mean follow-up of 21 years. Researchers classified BMI <18.5 as underweight, 18.5 to 24.9 as normal, 25 to 29.9 as overweight, and obesity as 30 and above.

Furthermore, waist circumference was categorized as normal (<94 cm for men, <80 cm for women), moderately high (95-102 cm for men, 81-88 cm for women), and high (>102 cm for men, >80 cm for women). Female 88cm)

Data from 2015 to 2016 showed that 28% of participants were pre-frail, 1% were frail and 70.5% were strong. Overall, about 51% of strong people and 55% of those classified as pre-frail were women, according to the data.

Participants in both the strong and pre-frailty/frailty groups were shown to wait and increase their waistline during the monitoring period, whereas the strong group returned to normal BMI and waistline at the beginning of the monitoring period. A higher percentage of participants with

Potentially influencing factors such as alcohol intake and smoking, educational attainment, marital status, social support, and physical activity levels differed significantly between the strong and pre-frailty/frailty groups, and the researchers accounted for these in their analyses. Did.

They found that obese individuals assessed by BMI alone in 1994 were approximately 2.5 times more likely to be pre-frailty/frail at the end of the monitoring period than those with normal BMI. On the other hand, those with moderately high or high waist circumferences from the start were 57% and twice as likely to be pre-frail/frail, respectively, than those with normal waistlines.

The researchers also found that those who started out with a normal BMI but had a moderately high waist circumference, or who were overweight but had a normal waistline, were pre-frail/frail at the end of the monitoring period. However, individuals who were obese and had moderately high waist circumferences at the start of the monitoring period were more likely to be pre-frail/frail.

The likelihood of pre-frailty/frailty was higher among those who gained weight or had an enlarged waistline than among those whose weight and waistline remained the same.

the study, “Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference, and Pre-Frailty/Frailty: The Tromsø Study 1994–2016was published in BMJ Open.