Weight, mortality, years of healthy life, and active life expectancy in older adults.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether weight categories predict subsequent mortality and morbidity in older adults.


METHODS
Multistate life tables, using data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, a longitudinal population-based cohort of older adults.


METHODS
Data were provided by community-dwelling seniors in four U.S. counties: Forsyth County, North Carolina; Sacramento County, California; Washington County, Maryland; and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.


METHODS
Five thousand eight hundred eighty-eight adults aged 65 and older at baseline.


METHODS
The age- and sex-specific probabilities of transition from one health state to another and from one weight category to another were estimated. From these probabilities, future life expectancy, years of healthy life, active life expectancy, and the number of years spent in each weight and health category after age 65 were estimated.


RESULTS
Women who are healthy and of normal weight at age 65 have a life expectancy of 22.1 years. Of that, they spend, on average, 9.6 years as overweight or obese and 5.3 years in fair or poor health. For both men and women, being underweight at age 65 was associated with worse outcomes than being normal weight, whereas being overweight or obese was rarely associated with worse outcomes than being normal weight and was sometimes associated with significantly better outcomes.


CONCLUSIONS
Similar to middle-aged populations, older adults are likely to be or to become overweight or obese, but higher weight is not associated with worse health in this age group. Thus, the number of older adults at a "healthy" weight may be much higher than currently believed.
Diehr
Paula
P
Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. pdiehr@u.washington.edu
O'Meara
Ellen S
ES
Fitzpatrick
Annette
A
Newman
Anne B
AB
Kuller
Lewis
L
Burke
Gregory
G
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy / Q000639:trends*; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology