Long-term obesity and physical functioning in older Americans

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Obesity Research
• Public Health

Background:

• Obesity is occurring earlier in life, increasing cumulative exposure.
• The long-term effects of obesity on functioning in later life are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) at age 25 and current BMI with functional limitations in older adults.
• To determine if long-term obesity, compared to later-life obesity, impacts functional decline.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 7258 US adults aged 60-79 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2010).
• Functional limitations defined by difficulty or inability to perform 8 tasks.
• Generalized regression models predicted limitations based on BMI at age 25 and current BMI, adjusted for covariates.

Main Results:

• Overweight/obesity at age 25 was associated with increased odds of functional limitations, but this link weakened significantly after adjusting for current BMI.
• Obesity at age 25 showed higher odds of severe limitations (2.72 before, 1.32 after current BMI adjustment).
• Some associations between early-life obesity and specific functional tasks persisted after adjusting for current BMI.

Conclusions:

• Long-term overweight and obesity are significantly associated with later-life functional limitations.
• This association is largely explained by higher BMI in later life.
• Preventing weight gain in early adulthood may mitigate the risk of future functional loss.