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Short-term weight changes in community-dwelling older adults: the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Weight Change Substudy^1,2,3

¹ From the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (JSL and ABN); the Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC (SBK); the National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD (TBH); the University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN (FT); and the University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (SMR)

Background: The frequency and short-term natural history of weight loss in community-dwelling older adults have not been described. Unintentional weight loss may be more likely to continue than intentional weight loss.

Objectives: The present substudy described the frequency of a 5% loss or gain in body weight in community-dwelling older adults at an annual examination of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study and 6 mo later. The weight-management practices used by the participants were also described.

Design: A total of 522 older adults with either a 5% weight gain (n = 116) or a 5% weight loss (n = 171) in the previous year were compared with a random sample of weight-stable older adults (<5% weight loss or gain, n = 235) at the fourth annual visit of the ongoing Health ABC Study. The participants' weight-loss intention and weight-management practices were assessed by an interview. The participants' weight was reassessed 6 mo later.

Results: Compared with the weight-stable participants, the participants who had lost or gained weight at the substudy baseline were more likely to have subsequent weight changes. The direction of the subsequent weight change, however, was more likely toward either maintenance of or recovery from the previous weight change. Only 4% of the participants who gained weight and 11% of those who lost weight continued to gain or lose weight, respectively. Continued weight loss was more common in the participants with unintentional weight loss than in those with intentional weight loss, but the difference was not significant.

Conclusions: Weight changes were common, but most participants, including those who unintentionally lost weight, maintained their weight change or resolved their weight change in 6 mo. Unintentional weight loss appears less likely to resolve than other weight changes.

Key Words: Weight-change intention • short-term weight change • community-dwelling elderly • Health ABC Study

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