Prognosis in obesity: Older people should not be misinformed about being overweight

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7514.452

BMJ 2005;331:452 (20 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7514.452

Letter

Prognosis in obesity

Older people should not be misinformed about being overweight

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—With reference to the editorial by Lean on prognosisin obesity,¹ advising apparently overweight older people tolose weight may do more harm than good. Evidence suggests thatthe risks of being "overweight" decrease with increasing age.On the basis of mortality, the ideal body mass index (BMI) ishigher in older than young adults, with an optimum BMI for peopleolder than 65 in the young adult "overweight" range of 27-30kg/m².² In a systematic review, Heiat et al concluded that therelation between BMI and mortality in people older than 65 isa flat bottomed, U-shaped curve, with mortality rising onlyat BMI > 31 kg/m² and perhaps not at any BMI in people olderthan 75.²

Weight loss is more common than weight gain in older people,and associated with poor outcomes, even when the weight lossis intentional and the person was "overweight" . . . [Full text of this article]

Renuka Visvanathan, senior lecturer in geriatric medicine

renuka.visvanathan@adelaide.edu.au
Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, SA 5011, Australia

Ian Chapman, associate professor

Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, SA 5011, Australia