HHS HealthBeat (June 3, 2010)

Losing weight and living older

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A study indicates that losing weight by diet, being physically active, or both might help many older people live longer.

At Wake Forest University, Stephen Kritchevsky saw that in data on 318 healthy but overweight or obese people over age 60 in a study that included diet and exercise. Many lost weight. Kritchevsky saw how many were alive eight years later:

"Older adults who participated in the weight loss intervention had half the mortality rate of those who did not participate." (8 seconds)

Kritchevsky notes some diseases cause weight loss. But he says losing weight intentionally may be good for healthy older overweight people.

The study in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011