Overweight and Obesity Over the Adult Life Course and Incident Mobility Limitation in Older Adults: The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
Open accessAbstract
Obesity in middle and old age predicts mobility limitation; however, the cumulative effect of overweight and/or obesity over the adult life course is unknown. The association between overweight and/or obesity in young, middle, and late adulthood and its cumulative effect on incident mobility limitation was examined among community-dwelling US adults aged 70-79 years at baseline (1997-1998) in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study (n = 2,845). Body mass index was calculated by using recalled weight at ages 25 and 50 years and measured weight at ages 70-79 years. Mobility limitation (difficulty walking 1/4 mile (0.4 km) or climbing 10 steps) was assessed semiannually over 7 years of follow-up and was reported by 43.0% of men and 53.7% of women. Men and women who were overweight or obese at all 3 time points had an increased risk of mobility limitation (hazard ratio = 1.61, 95% confidence interval: 1.25, 2.06 and hazard ratio = 2.85, 95% confidence interval: 2.15, 3.78, respectively) compared with those who were normal weight throughout. Furthermore, there was a significant graded response (P < 0.0001) on risk of mobility limitation for the cumulative effect of obesity in men and overweight and/or obesity in women. Onset of overweight and obesity in earlier life contributes to an increased risk of mobility limitation in old age.
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Progressive change in body composition occurs with ageing, characterised by four phenotypes in older adults: sarcopenia, healthy weight, obesity and sarcopenic obesity.
“Progressive change in body composition occurs with ageing, characterised by four phenotypes in older adults, that can increase the likelihood of mortality through comorbid disease [11]: sarcopenia, healthy weight, obesity and sarcopenic obesity [12]”
From Obesity pharmacotherapy in older adults: a narrative review of evidence (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
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- Authors
- Houston, D. K., Ding, J., Nicklas, B. J., Harris, T. B., Lee, J. S., Nevitt, M. C., Rubin, S. M., Tylavsky, F. A., Kritchevsky, S. B., & Study, F. T. H. A.
- Affiliations
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2009-03-03
- Volume
- 169
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 927-936
- ISSN
- 0002-9262 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-6256
- PMC
- PMC2727232
- OpenAlex
- W2104140932
- Cited by
- 132
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 5.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Aging (N01‐AG‐6–2101, N01AG62106, P30AG-21332, N01-AG-62103, P30AG021332)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention
- Keywords
- obesity, overweight, mobility limitations, older adults, life course, body mass index, aging, sex differences, Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aging, Body Composition, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Body Mass Index, Incidence, Confidence Intervals, Age Distribution, Overweight, Mobility Limitation
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