title: Is there a reversal in the effect of obesity on mortality in old age?
abstract: Studies of obesity and its relationship with mortality risk in older persons have yielded conflicting results. We aimed to examine the age-related associations between obesity and mortality in older persons. Data were drawn from the Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study (CALAS), a national survey of a random sample of older Jewish persons in Israel conducted during 1989-1992. Analyses included 1369 self-respondent participants aged 75-94 from the Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Aging Study (CALAS). Mortality data at 20-year followup were recorded from the Israeli National Population Registry. Obesity was significantly predictive of higher mortality for persons aged 75-84, but from age 85 onwards, obesity had a protective effect on mortality albeit at a nonsignificant level. Being underweight was consistently predictive of mortality. Findings suggest that the common emphasis on avoiding obesity may not apply to those advancing towards old-old age, at least as far as mortality is concerned.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, P.O.B. 39040, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
authors.forename: Jiska
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen-Mansfield
authors.forename: Rotem
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Perach