Skip Navigation



The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Advance Access published online on November 23, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, doi:10.1093/gerona/glp178
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
65A/1/105    most recent
glp178v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Stenholm, S.
Right arrow Articles by Ferrucci, L.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Stenholm, S.
Right arrow Articles by Ferrucci, L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America 2009.

Secular Trends in Body Weight in Older Men Born Between 1877 and 1941: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

Sari Stenholm1,2, Eleanor M. Simonsick1 and Luigi Ferrucci1

1 Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland
2 Division of Welfare and Health Policies, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland

Address correspondence to Sari Stenholm, PhD, National Institute on Aging, Clinical Research Branch, Harbor Hospital 5th Floor, 3001 S. Hanover Street, Baltimore, MD 21225. Email: stenholmsm{at}mail.nih.gov


  Abstract

Background: The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased in all age groups, including older adults. However, it is not known whether higher body weight is maintained in the very old and in the years prior to death. The present study examines whether there are secular trends in body weight in old age among three birth cohorts.

Methods: The study population includes 1,364 Caucasian men born between 1877 and 1941 from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging who were followed until death. Four hundred and seventy-seven men had body weight measured during the last 5 years prior to death. Body weight was measured biannually with the last visit occurring between 1959 and 2008. Differences in body weight at the last visit and body weight trajectories across birth cohorts were examined with linear regression and linear mixed-effect regression models.

Results: Men born between 1920 and 1941 had significantly higher body weight over the entire follow-up time compared with men born between 1900 and 1919 (p < .001) and 1877 and 1899 (p = .001), and the difference was also significant between the two earlier birth cohorts (p < .001). A significant increasing trend in body weight across birth cohorts was also observed in the few years prior to death.

Conclusions: In generally healthy men, there is a significant secular increase in body weight over the adult life span and in the few years prior to death. This study confirms that the obesity epidemic also extends into late life in the current elderly population.

Keywords Obesity; BSLA; Body weight; Old age

Received: October 19, 2009; Accepted: October 22, 2009

Decision Editor: Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.