Health New study: being chubby helps mitigate age-related frailty

Good news for those with expanding waistlines: a group of researchers has discovered that obesity might result in a reduced risk of mortality among older adults suffering from a decline in mental and physical health, a condition known as frailty. The team also reported that individuals who do not suffer from age-related frailty have the lowest mortality risk when they are slightly overweight. Scientists from Waseda University, the National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, Biwako Seikei Sport College, and Kyoto University of Advanced Science presented these findings.

"Though elderly individuals are believed to less likely die if they are moderately overweight, the situation can be different, depending on whether they have frailty," said Daiki Watanabe, an assistant professor of nutritional epidemiology at Waseda University, who was part of the research team. "While being extremely thin may keep elderly people from living longer lives, it is true at the same time that being fatter does not necessarily ensure a longer life." The term "frailty" refers to an intermediate stage between the states of health and illness. This condition draws particular attention, as proper health management is important to stop nursing care from becoming necessary.

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The findings of the researchers' analysis revealed that elderly individuals stricken by frailty can die more quickly when they have lower BMI values. A 1-point increase in BMI contributes to a 9-percent decline in the mortality rate. Still, frailty proved to be risky by itself. Elderly people with frailty were 1.43 times to 3.63 times more likely to die compared with their healthy counterparts, marked by BMI readings of 21.5 through 24.9. Even among older people free of frailty, lower BMI values were apt to contribute to the higher possibility of death.



Source: Frailty modifies the association of body mass index with mortality among older adults: Kyoto-Kameoka study

There may be hope for me yet , LOL.

Finally, some good news.