scholarly journals Challenging the “jolly fat” hypothesis among older adults: High body mass index predicts increases in depressive symptoms over a 5-year period

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Joseph Dearborn ◽  
Michael A Robbins ◽  
Merrill F Elias

Several investigators have observed lowered risk of depression among obese older adults, coining the “jolly fat” hypothesis. We examined this hypothesis using baseline and a 5-year follow-up body mass index, depressive symptoms, and covariates from 638 community-based older adults. High objectively measured body mass index and functional limitations predicted increased future depressive symptoms. However, symptoms did not predict future body mass index. Self-reported body mass index showed similar associations despite underestimating obesity prevalence. Results did not differ on the basis of gender. Results for this study, the first longitudinal reciprocal risk analysis between objectively measured body mass index and depressive symptoms among older adults, do not support the “jolly fat” hypothesis.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Majid Mufaqam Syed-Abdul ◽  
Chrissa L. McClellan ◽  
Elizabeth J. Parks ◽  
Stephen D. Ball

Abstract Ageing is associated with reduced muscle mass, strength, flexibility and balance, resulting in a poor quality of life (QOL). Past studies have occurred in highly controlled laboratory settings which provide strong support to determine whether similar gains can be made in community programmes. Twenty participants were enrolled in an eight-week community-based resistance training programme (mean age = 61.3 (standard error (SE) = 0.9) years); Body Mass Index = 32.0 (SE = 1.3) kg/m2). All participants completed surveys to assess outcomes associated with QOL. Given the relationship between muscle function and nerve health, nerve conduction studies (NCS) were also conducted in a separate group of participants (mean age = 64.9 (SE = 2.0) years; Body Mass Index = 32.6 (SE = 1.9) kg/m2). This community-based training programme significantly improved QOL measures in older adults (p < 0.001). Although weight loss was not the primary outcome of the study, participants reduced their body weights (p < 0.001), by primarily reducing fat mass (p = 0.007) while maintaining muscle mass. Significant improvements were observed in muscle strength (2.2%), flexibility and balance (3.2–464.2%, p ⩽ 0.05 for all). Improvements were also observed in plasma glucose (p = 0.05), haemoglobin A1C (p = 0.06) and aldolase enzyme levels (p < 0.001). Scores for surveys on memory and sleep improved (p < 0.05). Improved QOL was associated with increased lean mass (r = −0.714, p = 0.002), decreased fat mass (r = −0.702, p = 0.003) and improved flexibility and balance (r = −0.627, p = 0.008). An eight-week, community-based resistance training programme significantly improved QOL in older adults. Influence on the lipid profile and NCS still needs further investigation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 668-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Konttinen ◽  
O Kiviruusu ◽  
T Huurre ◽  
A Haukkala ◽  
H Aro ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (15) ◽  
pp. 1646-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars E Garnvik ◽  
Vegard Malmo ◽  
Imre Janszky ◽  
Ulrik Wisløff ◽  
Jan P Loennechen ◽  
...  

Background Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder, and high body mass index is a well-established risk factor for atrial fibrillation. The objective of this study was to examine the associations of physical activity and body mass index and risk of atrial fibrillation, and the modifying role of physical activity on the association between body mass index and atrial fibrillation. Design The design was a prospective cohort study. Methods This study followed 43,602 men and women from the HUNT3 study in 2006–2008 until first atrial fibrillation diagnosis or end of follow-up in 2015. Atrial fibrillation diagnoses were collected from hospital registers and validated by medical doctors. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to assess the association between physical activity, body mass index and atrial fibrillation. Results During a mean follow-up of 8.1 years (352,770 person-years), 1459 cases of atrial fibrillation were detected (4.1 events per 1000 person-years). Increasing levels of physical activity were associated with gradually lower risk of atrial fibrillation ( p trend 0.069). Overweight and obesity were associated with an 18% (hazard ratio 1.18, 95% confidence interval 1.03–1.35) and 59% (hazard ratio 1.59, 95% confidence interval 1.37–1.84) increased risk of atrial fibrillation, respectively. High levels of physical activity attenuated some of the higher atrial fibrillation risk in obese individuals (hazard ratio 1.53, 95% confidence interval 1.03–2.28 in active and 1.96, 95% confidence interval 1.44–2.67 in inactive) compared to normal weight active individuals. Conclusion Overweight and obesity were associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation. Physical activity offsets some, but not all, atrial fibrillation risk associated with obesity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hari Venkatesh Pai ◽  
Martin C Gulliford

Background and objective: Both low and high body mass index (BMI) have been associated with greater mortality in older adults. This study evaluated the trajectory of BMI in the final years of life. Design: Population-based cohort study. Setting: Community-dwelling adults in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing between 1998 and 2012. Measurements: Body mass index, years before death and all-cause mortality. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, educational level, housing tenure and social class. Results: Data were analysed for 16,924 participants with 31,857 BMI records; mean age at study start, 61.6 (SD 10.9) years; mean BMI, 27.5 (4.7) Kg/m2. There were 3,686 participants (4,794 BMI records) who died and 13,238 participants (27,063 BMI records) who were alive at last follow-up. Mean BMI increased with age to 60-69 years but then declined, but the age-related decline was more rapid in decedents. At ages 80-89 years, mean BMI in decedents was 26.1 (4.7) compared with 27.1 (4.4) Kg/m2 in survivors. After adjusting for age and covariates, mean BMI declined in the five years before death. From 9 to 5 years before death or end of study, adjusted mean BMI was 0.51 (95% confidence interval 0.24 to 0.78) Kg/m2 lower for decedents than survivors; and from four to zero years before death, 1.55 (1.26 to 1.84) Kg/m2 lower in decedents. Conclusions: In community-dwelling older adults, mean body mass index enters an accelerating decline during five years before death. Reverse causation may account for the association of lower BMI with mortality.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252955
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Sato ◽  
Daisuke Kudo ◽  
Shigeki Kushimoto ◽  
Masatsugu Hasegawa ◽  
Fumihito Ito ◽  
...  

Background The distribution of body mass in populations of Western countries differs from that of populations of East Asian countries. In East Asian countries, fewer people have a high body mass index than those in Western countries. In Japan, the country with the highest number of older adults worldwide, many people have a low body mass index. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between a low body mass index and mortality in patients with sepsis in Japan. Methods We conducted this retrospective analysis of 548 patients with severe sepsis from a multicenter prospective observational study. Multivariate logistic regression analyses determined the association between body mass index and 28-day mortality adjusted for age, sex, pre-existing conditions, the occurrence of septic shock, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores. Furthermore, the association between a low body mass index and 28-day mortality was analyzed. Results The low body mass index group represented 18.8% of the study population (103/548); the normal body mass index group, 57.3% (314/548); and the high body mass index group, 23.9% (131/548), with the 28-day mortality rates being 21.4% (22/103), 11.2% (35/314), and 14.5% (19/131), respectively. In the low body mass index group, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for 28-day mortality relative to the non-low body mass index (normal and high body mass index groups combined) group were 2.0 (1.1–3.4) and 2.3 (1.2–4.2), respectively. Conclusion A low body mass index was found to be associated with a higher 28-day mortality than the non-low body mass index in patients with sepsis in Japan. Given that older adults often have a low body mass index, these patients should be monitored closely to reduce the occurrence of negative outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 820-820
Author(s):  
Megan Rutherford ◽  
Brian Downer ◽  
Chih-Ying Li ◽  
Soham Al Snih

Abstract The objective of this study was to examine body mass index (BMI) as predictor of frailty among non-frail Mexican American older adults at baseline. Data are from an 18-year prospective cohort of 1,647 non-institutionalized Mexican American aged ≥ 67 years from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (1995/1996-2012/13). BMI (Kg/m2) was grouped according to the National Institutes of Health obesity standards (&lt;18.5=underweight, 18.5–24.9=normal weight, 25.0–29.9=overweight, 30.0–34.9=obesity category I and ≥ 35=obesity category II and extreme obesity). Frailty was defined as meeting three or more of the following: unintentional weight loss of &gt;10 pounds, weakness, self-reported exhaustion, low physical activity, and slow walking speed. Covariates included socio-demographics, comorbidities, cognitive function, depressive symptoms, and limitations in activities of daily living (ADL). General Estimating Equations were performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of frailty as a function of BMI categories. All variables were analyzed as time varying except for gender and education. Participants in the underweight or obesity type II / morbidity obesity category had increased OR of frailty over time than those in the normal weight category (2.68, 95% CI=1.46-4.9 vs.1.55, 95% CI=1.02-2.35, respectively) after controlling for all covariates. Those who reported arthritis, hip fracture, depressive symptoms, or ADL disability had increased odds of frailty over time. This study showed a U-shaped relationship between BMI and frailty over an 18-year period of follow-up which has implications for maintaining a healthy weight to prevent frailty in this population.


PM&R ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. S268-S268
Author(s):  
Monique B. Perry ◽  
Naomi Lynn H. Gerber ◽  
Ching-yi A. Shieh ◽  
Monica C. Skarulis

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y An ◽  
M Iguchi ◽  
M Ishii ◽  
N Masunaga ◽  
Y Aono ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Obesity has been shown to be related to an increased risk for incidence and progression of atrial fibrillation (AF). Meanwhile, the inverse association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality, so-called “obesity paradox”, is well-known among patients with AF, as well as other cardiovascular diseases. However, data regarding the relationship between BMI and specific causes of death in AF patients remain scarce. Methods The Fushimi AF Registry is a community-based prospective survey of AF patients in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto. The inclusion criterion for the registry is the documentation of AF at 12-lead electrocardiogram or Holter monitoring at any time. We started to enroll patients from March 2011, and baseline characteristics including BMI and follow-up data were available for 3,805 patients by the end of November 2018. Patients were categorized into 3 groups depending on the BMI value; underweight (<18.5 kg/m2; 419 patients), normal (18.5 to <25.0 kg/m2; 2,283 patients), overweight (≤25.0 kg/m2; 1,103 patients). Results In the entire population, the mean BMI level was 23.1±4.0 kg/m2. The lower BMI was associated with higher age (78.5±10.3, 74.0±10.3, and 71.3±10.9 years in Underweight, Normal, and Overweight, respectively; p<0.001) and with higher prevalence of various comorbidities and CHA2DS2-VASc scores (3.83±1.67, 3.43±1.70, and 3.29±1.64, p<0.001). Oral anticoagulants were less frequently prescribed in those with lower BMI (46%, 56%, and 58%, p<0.001). During a median follow-up of 1,464 days (interquartile range: 727–2,228 days), all-cause mortality was lower in accordance with higher BMI (14.3, 5.3, and 3.5 per 100 person-years, respectively; p<0.001). The proportion of infection as a cause of death was prominently higher in the Underweight group than the others (25.7%, 16.7%, and 13.4%, p<0.001) (Figure A). Furthermore, the mortality due to infection was consistently higher in Underweight than in the others in any of the age subgroups (Figure B). Cox models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the BMI value for mortality, adjusted by age, sex, chronic kidney disease, anemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of major bleeding, and other components of CHA2DS2-VASc score. Higher BMI was related to lower all-cause mortality (per 5 kg/m2 increase: HR 0.71 [95% CIs 0.63–0.78], p<0.001), and also lower mortality due to infection (per 5 kg/m2 increase: HR 0.48 [95% CIs 0.37–0.61], p<0.001). Figure 1 Conclusions In a Japanese community-based AF cohort, obesity paradox was also observed on all-cause mortality. In particular, lower BMI was strongly associated with the mortality due to infection regardless of age. Acknowledgement/Funding Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer Healthcare, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Daiichi-Sankyo, Novartis Pharma, MSD, Sanofi-Avent


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