VOLUME 2007 chapter 5

The Correlation Between Aging, Weight, and Disability

The inability to function independently is on the rise in obese men and women age 60+. Dawn Alley and Virginia Chang, from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA USA) examined the association between obesity and disability by analyzing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). They found that functional impairment among obese individuals increased by 5.4% between 1999-2004 as compared to 1988-1994. In the 1988-1994 timeframe, obese individuals were nearly twice as likely to have a functional impairment (as compared to their normal-weight counterparts). From 1999 to 2004, the likelihood of functional impairment increased to almost three-fold.
[Dawn E. Alley, PhD; Virginia W. Chang, MD, PhD. “The Changing Relationship of Obesity and Disability, 1988-2004.” JAMA. 2007;298(17):2020-2027.]

Dr. Klatz observes: “As this study shows, excess weight can result in significant impairments to functional independence as we age, thus directly hampering quality of life. To combat gaining pounds as you age, engage in regular physical activity that is aerobic in nature (such as 30-60 minutes of brisk walking, 5 or more days of the week). Additional health benefits can be gained through greater amounts of physical activity, but even small amounts of activity are healthier than a sedentary lifestyle.”

Overweight/Obesity Once Again Associated to Lengthy List of Causes of Death

Body Mass Index (BMI) is the the ratio between height and weight. The number indicates whether a person is underweight, overweight, or within a normal weight range. Individuals with a BMI of 25.0 or greater are considered overweight and those with a BMI of 30.0 or greater are considered obese. Katherine M. Flegal, from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA USA), and colleagues analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) for the period 1971 to 2002. The researchers found that overweight increased the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. In addition, individuals who were overweight (as well as those who were underweight) had an increased risk of death from causes other than cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Specifically, overweight/obesity was correlated to increased risk of death from diabetes and kidney disease. Obesity also raised the risk of death from cancers of the colon, breast, esophagus, uterus, ovaries, kidney, and pancreas.
[Katherine M. Flegal, PhD; Barry I. Graubard, PhD; David F. Williamson, PhD; Mitchell H. Gail, MD, PhD. “Cause-Specific Excess Deaths Associated With Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity.” JAMA. 2007;298(17):2028-2037.]

Remarks Dr. Goldman: “According to the World Health Organization, globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of them obese. People are becoming obese due to the availability of food, changes in the kind of food eaten, and decreased exercise. Industrialization, urbanization and mechanized transport have reduced physical activity, thus more than 60 per cent of the global population is not sufficiently active. It’s important for people to understand that by failing to maintain a healthy weight, they leave themselves at an increased risk of dying from a multitude of causes.”

Vitamin D Slows the Aging Process

Vitamin D inhibits the body’s inflammatory response and thus reduces the turnover of leukocytes (a type of white blood cell). Researchers have previously established that the length of the leukocyte telomere (the endcap of the chromosome) as a predictor of aging-related disease, decreasing as a result of increased inflammation. J. Brent Richards, from King's College, London School of Medicine (London, United Kingdom), and colleagues measured leukocyte telomeres in more than 2,000 women and found that those with longer telomeres had higher levels of Vitamin D stored in their bodies. After factoring for age, the researchers determined that women with higher levels of vitamin D were more likely to have longer leukocyte telomeres. Reports the team: “The difference … was … equivalent to five years of telomeric aging.” Dr. Richards observes: “These results are exciting because they demonstrate for the first time that people who have higher levels of vitamin D may age more slowly than people with lower levels.”
[J Brent Richards, Ana M Valdes, Jeffrey P Gardner, Dimitri Paximadas, Masayuki Kimura, Ayrun Nessa, Xiaobin Lu, Gabriela L Surdulescu, Rami Swaminathan, Tim D Spector, and Abraham Aviv. “Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women.” Am J Clin Nutr 2007 86: 1420-1425.]

Comments Dr. Klatz: “This study shows that higher vitamin D concentrations, which can be readily achieved by nutritional supplementation, modulate the aging of key immune system cells. It clearly underscores the potentially beneficial effects of vitamin D on aging and age-related disease.”

< PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE >