Weight loss may mean a risk of death for older adults, study shows:

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/10/health/weight-loss-older-adults-wellness/index.html

A new study shows that weight loss in older adults is associated with early death and life-limiting conditions.

Weight gain, on the other hand, was not associated with mortality, according to the study published Monday in JAMA Network Open.

Medical professionals have known to be concerned when older people with health conditions lose weight but researchers have not fully understood the impact of weight change on healthy older adults, according to lead study author Dr. Monira Hussain, a clinical epidemiologist and senior research fellow in public health and preventative medicine at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

The study looked at nearly 17,000 adults at least 70 years old in Australia and more than 2,000 adults in the United States who were at least 65 years old. Everyone who participated in the study was weighed at their annual checkup between 2010 and 2014, according to the study.

"Our study found that even a 5% weight loss increases mortality risk, particularly in older men," Hussain said.

Weight gain in healthy older people, on the other hand, showed no association, she added.