Maintaining weight may be beneficial in older persons who become overweight after age 65
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This review aimed to describe the characteristics of late-life obesity and to systematically examin the empiric evidence of the effects of intentional weight loss interventions in elderly obese subjects. Conditions for inclusion in the review were: randomized controlled trial, subjects aged ≥60 years; baseline BMI ≥27; weight loss versus baseline of ≥3% or 2 kg; and trial duration ≥6 months. Detailed review of the 16 selected articles revealed that weight loss interventions elicited significant benefits in patients presenting with osteoarthritis, coronary heart disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, with slightly negative effects on bone mineral density and lean body mass. In conclusion, these longitudinal trials examining the relationship between mortality and body weight suggest that maintaining weight might be beneficial to obese patients older than 65 years although important benefits of weight reduction were documented for osteoarthritis, physical function, and possibly diabetes and coronary heart disease. Decisions about implementing a weight loss intervention in elderly obese subjects should be carefully considered on a individualized basis.
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