Senior Spirit Online

New Study Calls Into Question Current BMI Guidelines For Older Adults

Adults aged over 70 years who are classified as overweight are less likely to die over a ten year period than adults who are in the ‘normal’ weight range, according to a new study published January 28, 2010 in the Journal of The American Geriatrics Society.

Researchers looked at data taken over a decade among more than 9,200 Australian men and women aged between 70 and 75 at the beginning of the study, who were assessed for their health and lifestyle as part of a study into healthy aging. The paper sheds light on the situation in Australia, which is ranked the third most obese country, behind the United States and the United Kingdom.

Obesity and overweight are most commonly defined according to body mass index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing bodyweight (in kg) by the square of height (in metres). The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines four principal categories: underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese. The thresholds for these categories were primarily based on evidence from studies of morbidity and mortality risk in younger and middle-aged adults, but it remains unclear whether the overweight and obese cut-points are overly restrictive measures for predicting mortality in older people.

The study began in 1996 and recruited 4,677 men and 4,563 women. The participants were followed for ten years or until their death, whichever was sooner, and factors such as lifestyle, demographics, and health were measured. The research uncovered that mortality risk was lowest for participants with a BMI classified as overweight, with the risk of death reduced by 13% compared with normal weight participants. The benefits were only seen in the overweight category not in those people who are obese.

“Concerns have been raised about encouraging apparently overweight older people to lose weight and as such the objective of our study was to examine the major unresolved question of, ‘what level of BMI is associated with the lowest mortality risk in older people?’” said lead researcher Prof. Leon Flicker, of the University of Western Australia. “These results add evidence to the claims that the WHO BMI thresholds for overweight and obese are overly restrictive for older people. It may be timely to review the BMI classification for older adults.”

In those participants who died before the conclusion of the study, the researchers concluded that the type of disease which caused their death, for example heart disease or cancer, did not affect the level of protection being overweight had. To remove any risk of bias in participants with illnesses which caused them to lose weight, and also increased their risk of dying, the researchers contrasted subjects who were relatively healthy compared with those who had major chronic diseases or smoked and found no apparent differences in the BMI: mortality relationship.

While the same benefit in being overweight was true for men and women, being sedentary doubled the risk of death for women, whereas it only increased the risk by a quarter in men.

“Our study suggests that those people who survive to age 70 in reasonable health have a different set of risks and benefits associated with the amount of body fat to younger people, and these should be reflected in BMI guidelines,” concluded Flicker.

This study is published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The website FreeMD.com is a complete health resource that includes a virtual doctor who conducts an interview, analyzes your symptoms, and provides recommendations.

There are lots of ridiculous rumors swirling about these days.  Get the facts today - http://hubpages.com/hub/politicalfacts

The White House has unveiled a plan that would give the executive branch more power over Medicare reimbursement rates.  Under the proposed plan, Congress would largely cede its power to decide payment issues.  The plan would form an independent Medicare Advisory Council that would draw up payment policy recommendations, subject to approval by the president.  Congress would then have the opportunity to disapprove the recommendations. However, if it did not, the recommendations would go into effect.

Vice President Joe Biden announced this week that approximatley $100 million will be handed out by the Department of Health and Human Services to provide meals to thousands of low-income senior citizens.  The funding is expected to provide nearly 14 million meals nationwide. 

The federal stimulus program provides $65 million for nutrition services provided at senior centers and other community sites, $32 million for nutrition services delivered to seniors at home, and $3 million for Native American nutrition programs.

Recent reports indicate that claims that Acai berry products help with weight loss, strengthen your heart, slow aging, and aid in colon cleansing, as well as enhance sexual desire, are not backed by science.  Additionally,  thousands of consumers are now complaining that the “free trial” offers for these products are anything but free.  For example, consumers are told that a trial offer is free and that they will be charged $5.00 for shipping.  Instead they find that they have been charged significantly more - one consumer complained that he never received a free bottle.  Instead, his bank account was hit for four bottles of the Acai berry product, at $69.95 per bottle.  

It is important to exercise extreme caution when one is tempted to give out debit card, credit card, or bank account information for any reason, including televsion and internet offers.

According to Health Daily News, new research exploring the link between personality and the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease suggests that sociable people who don’t sweat the small stuff may be more likely to remember the small stuff as they age.  The study, published in the Jan. 20 issue of Neurology, adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting a link between personality traits, lifestyle and Alzheimer’s disease. “Older people who are active, outgoing and relaxed may be less likely to develop dementia,” said study author Hui-Xin Wang, with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. 

To measure their sociability and disposition to stress, researchers reportedly questioned 506 older individuals about their lifestyle and personality traits.  After six years, 144 people had developed some form of dementia; however, researchers discovered that calm, more relaxed people, whether they had active social lives or not, were 50 percent less likely to develop dementia than those who had higher levels of neuroticism.  People who were both calm and outgoing, with active social lives, were also 50 percent less likely to develop dementia.  The study found that less neurotic people were more calm and self-satisfied than their more neurotic counterparts, while outgoing people tended to be more socially active and optimistic than less extroverted people.

At present, according to the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer’s disease currently affects 2.4 to 4.5 million Americans.  Unless the disease can be effectively treated or prevented, that number will increase significantly as the population ages .

Be sure to check out http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml, which is the site with official information and services from the U.S. government.

CIGNA Senior & Retiree Services, a division of one of the nation’s largest health service companies, is joining forces with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to make available NCOA’s BenefitsCheckUp(R) to CIGNA’s Medicare members. The program helps identify federal, state and local benefits programs that can help enhance the quality of seniors’ lives.BenefitsCheckUp is the nation’s most comprehensive Web-based service to help individuals, primarily older Americans with limited income and resources, find and get the benefits programs for which they qualify. Launched by NCOA in 2001, the innovative program tracks over 1,550 benefits programs throughout all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

This arrangement provides CIGNA with its own version of NCOA’s BenefitsCheckUp, and the potential to provide access to benefits programs to thousands of its members nationwide.

“CIGNA’s mission is to improve the health, well-being and security of those we serve,” said Sam Srivastava, president, National and Senior Segments for CIGNA HealthCare. “What better way to accomplish that mission than to help provide necessary resources to improve the quality of seniors’ lives. NCOA adds a valuable dimension to our services and commitment to our members.”

Since its creation, BenefitsCheckUp has screened more than 2 million seniors and some younger persons with disabilities for programs that help pay for health care, prescription drugs, rent, utilities and many other needs.

More information on NCOA and its BenefitsCheckUp program is available at BenefitsCheckUp.org.

According to a report released March 28, 2008 by AARP,  while older Americans 65+ have a limited awareness of new technologies, they are willing to use a wide variety of items if they were available to maintain social contact, gather information, be safe at home, and promote their personal health and wellness.  Click here to read report.