Obesity Causes Disability Even After Weight Loss
Wed May 1, 2:42 PM ET

By Melissa Schorr

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adults who are obese are more likely to become disabled later in life--even if they ultimately manage to take off the weight, researchers report.

"People who were obese and lost weight were still at a higher risk of disability than those who were never obese," lead author Dr. Kenneth Ferraro, a professor of sociology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, told Reuters Health. "It seems once the body gets across a threshold of weight, it may have long-term consequences."

While obesity is known to be associated with health ailments--from heart disease to diabetes, the researchers were interested in examining whether being obese also carries an independent risk of causing a loss of functioning on everyday tasks.

Ferraro and colleagues examined whether those who were obese suffered any form of disability, defined as a restriction or inability to do simple things such as walk a quarter of a mile, get in and out of a car, or do light chores. They report their findings in the May issue of the American Journal of Public Health, journal of the American Public Health Association (news - web sites).

The investigators used data from two long-term national health surveys, following nearly 7,000 adults for two decades and tracking their body mass index, a measurement based on a person's height and weight.

Ferraro's team found that those who were obese had twice the risk of suffering a lower-body disability later in life, as well as an elevated risk of an upper-body disability. This elevated risk persisted, although to a lower degree, even if the individual managed to lose weight over the course of the study period.

The researchers took into account other potential causes of disability, such as having suffered a stroke or a heart attack, but still found that body weight alone was associated with the increased impairments.

Ferraro said it was still unclear whether an increase in body weight led to these physical impairments as a result of stress placed on the skeletal muscles, a change in metabolism in the body's connective tissues, or unknown other reasons.

However, these findings suggest that passing this threshold of obesity sets off changes in the body that could be hard to change. "One message is the effects (of obesity) are not totally reversible," Ferraro said. "However, there is some hope for an obese person--if they lose weight, they will see an increase in their functioning."

SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health 2002;92.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...ty_disability_1

this makes sense and jibes with everything else I've read about the reality of weight loss (not the sparkly-happy version that the diet industry sells, the reliable medical journal version). The benefits to weight loss are largely social, and medically there are apparently slightly more costs than benefits.

The interesting question is "why"? I think set point theory is closer to the answer than lots of other thinking. In effect, it seems to me, there are people who are metabolically skinny, metabolically medium, metabolically overweight and metabolically obese. Most of us can fight that fact with adjustments to lifestyle (though not everyone can--some 300 pound people cannot lose weight even in supervised inpatient treatment programs, suggesting the fault hardly lies with them); but these adjustments tend to work for the short term only. (and no, there's no proof LC works better in the long term, as much as we all hope it would).

I appreciate that the researcher understands that there might be some "other" reason for the problem than the weight itself. If only they'd "get it" a bit more and not blame the obesity on the character of the person with the condition (as if we all just loved going over that threshold of obesity and did it obstinately or cheerfully). I doubt I'll live to see that day...

I am both saddened and confused by this report. as if the aliments listed are exclusive to the obese.

I had a brother who died at the age of 47 and was a vegetarian and always looked thin not ever a hint of chubbyness.{heart attck?}

another brother had a heart attack at 46 and was a body-builder and woodsman, hiker and never more than a 34 waist
He had a by-pass after he had damage to his heart; he was devoted to no, none nada fat, be it in meat or vegetables. He ate wheat berry for breakfast, turned away from beef and turned to fruit and vegetables mainly with salmon and other fish as a staple. No cheese, no nuts, not even an avacado.
He had a second heart by-pass and recently a stent place in an 99% occluded artery.

family genes, you say? Mother and father died after reaching their 84th year. Father's father lived until he was well in his nineties; father's brother lived to be 101; sisters lived till their late nineties;
so by all accounts their genes do not seem particularly bad.
none of these people were morbidly overweight.

On the other hand I after battleing overwweight but maintaing a decent body size most of my life, went on a carbhydrate starvation protein liquid diet when it was the fad. Now at 70 Iam morbidly over weight and have been trying not to become diabetic, as I'm told will happen.

I do not overeat, I am not a pig out; I don't drink and I don't smoke now. But I think smoking for a short time and dieting all the time has done some thing to my body. I never took illegal drugs and lived a semi celebate life.

But I think the thing most common to all of the people mentioned was that we all loved sweets. Cake and pastries was a family prize, sharing our baked goods with all.

I am not going to take this one more crack at making me feel defeated before I finish using my new information. That sugar and sugar carbs and perhaps my own over production of insulin during my lifetime, has caused me to become fatter than ever in my golden years.

This is one report they didn't have to spend any money on.

Those of you trying as I am, don't give up! And those that have been successful in getting their weight down, don't give up thinking that you did not buy additional years better equiped to handle what may come along latter in life.

forgive the rage and long winded thoughts

I have to say one thing and that is that I would like to see the study differentiate between those who lost the weight on a low-fat diet and those who adopted a low-carb lifestyle.

My "gut" feeling is that those of us who low-carb will be better off than the low-fatters. I say this because on a low-fat diet, they are depriving their bodies of the nutrients (protein and fat) they need build and rebuild their bodies. They not only lost weight, they weakened their bodies, no wonder they had "disability" problems. On low-carb, we are building up our bones, muscles and immune systems. We are becoming stronger.

I know from personal experience: Before I started low-carbing (and for many years prior), I have been having a problem with weak ankles and falling down a lot. Since I have reduced my weight by 23 pounds and my strength is increasing daily, I have not fallen once. And I have stepped wrong many times in the exact way that used to make me fall.

I think what really bothers me about this article is that it seems to say we shouldn't bother to try to be healthier and feel better about ourselves. This article made me very angry.

So that's enough of my ranting. Have a nice day.

;-Deb

Whereas I read an article less than 2 weeks ago regarding researchers who are astounded to find that there really are fit, but fat people. Moreover, they do not suffer from elevated blood pressure, cholesterol or any other "weight-related" markers. They now are trying to determine whether those who were significantly overweight and had no health problems will develop them later on. In essence, the New York Times Health Page article was asking which came first, the ill-health or the overweight? It's been just too convenient for doctors for decades to blame all ailments on their patients' excess poundage, and never consider other factors. I would be sick, thick or thin, due to a very bad genetic inheritance. Obesity may make it worse, but I am positive losing almost 70 pounds by low carbing is making my genetic inheritance easier to deal with.

I think it's important to note that the disabilities referred to in the article have more to do with strength, flexibility and endurance than they do with general health. It also mentions "lower body disability" which I would take to mean joint problems and "upper body disability" which I would understand to be back problems. It shouldn't come as a surprise that carrying around twice as much weight (or more) than a person should is hard on the muscles and joints. Once damage is done to joints, it's very difficult to undo it. I don't think losing weight by low fat/protein and high carb is doing our bodies a whole lot of good, either. IF the body is to repair itself, guess what it needs to do it? PROTEIN and FAT! Carbs may be our bodies' preferred energy source, but it does nothing for building up bone and muscle...for that you must have proteins and fats. I have to agree with DebPenny...I think over the long term we will be better off for having lost the weight the way that we did than by doing it with low fat/high carb (if it were possible for us to lose the weight that way at all!).

I totally agree with Deb. Does this study take into account those who are doing low calorie, low fat, low carb or have lost their weight by fasting or on drugs from the doctor??

Studies, as far as I'm concerned, just prove one thing--that it is IMPOSSIBLE to lump loads of people into a group and make any conclusions. Did they divide these people into age groups, blood types as well as diet preference? What about genetics?

I have only lost 29 pounds of the 112 pounds I need to lose and ALREADY I am feeling the benefits in my feet and lower back.
I believe it is also due to the fact that I am wheat and sugar free.
Was this taken into consideration in this study?

A friend once said that her son's coach told her there was a condition called "wheat legs" that he found when training teenagers [and I guess adults] It had to do with wheat weakening the tendons, or muscles. If that one little bit of information was left out of this study and the majority of these people were O blood type [Dadamo] or Parasympathic [Woolcott] or low carb burners [Atkins] then disabilities are going to show up no matter what they weigh, don't you think??

Kae