It's never too late to lose weight

The experiment proved that age is not a hindrance in losing excess weight

Georgy Golovanov, Hi-tech+

Obese patients over the age of 60 can lose pounds just like young people, only thanks to lifestyle changes.

Article by Leyden et al. Older age does not influence the success of weight loss through the implementation of lifestyle modification published in the journal Clinical Endocrinology – VM.

Conclusions reached by researchers from University of Warwick, based on the analysis of medical data of patients of the city hospital. Scientists randomly selected 242 people among those who turned to the help service for obese patients, divided them into two groups by age – under 60 years and from 60 to 78 – and compared the changes in their body weight indicators before and after lifestyle correction, according to a press release Age is no barrier to successful weight loss, new study finds.

When compared, these two groups were statistically equivalent: people aged 60 and older on average reduced body weight by 7.3% compared with a 6.9% decrease in body weight in people under the age of 60. Both groups spent the same amount of time in the anti–obesity program - an average of 33.6 months for people 60 years and older and 41.5 months for people younger than 60 years.

The program included only lifestyle changes consistent with the characteristics of each patient. Basically, the correction concerned eating habits, as well as time was given to psychological support and promotion of physical activity. Most of the patients contacted the service with a diagnosis of pathological obesity and a body mass index over 40 kg/^m2.

There are more than fifty obesity-related diseases, the risk of which can be significantly reduced with weight loss. These include diabetes, a number of mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety, as well as osteoarthritis and others. Obesity is also associated with increased mortality and general poor health.

"Age should not be an obstacle to fighting obesity by changing lifestyle," said Thomas Barber, lead author of the paper. – Instead of preventing older people from participating in weight loss programs, we should actively facilitate this process for them. Otherwise, we risk further undeservedly neglecting them because of the social misconceptions of ageism."

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