On the other hand, weight gain had no significant association with mortality among men. “Study shows that weight loss was associated with increased mortality, particularly among men, highlighting the need to monitor and investigate weight loss in older adults,” from Monash University in Victoria, Australia Sultana Monira Hussain wrote with the authors of the paper.
The study looked at nearly 16,523 adults who were at least 70 years old in Australia and more than 2,000 adults who were at least 65 years old in the US.
The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, showed that a loss of 5 to 10 percent of body weight among men was associated with a 33 percent. A loss of more than 10 percent of body weight was associated with a 289 percent increase in mortality.
Changes in body size associated with increased mortality risk were also observed in older women.
In women, a loss of 5 to 10 percent of body weight was associated with a 26 percent increased risk of death, while a loss of more than 10 percent of body weight increased the risk of death by 114 percent.
Researchers pointed out that weight loss can also be an early indicator of the presence of various diseases that shorten life, including cancer, heart disease, among others.
“Studies of healthy older adults suggest that weight loss was associated with an increase in all-cause and cause-specific mortality, including an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and other life-limiting conditions. Importance to clinicians should be aware of weight loss, especially among older men,” the researchers said.
They further noted that the reduction in weight associated with mortality among men may be a result of the different body composition characteristics of men and women.
For men, a higher proportion of body mass is muscle and bone mass, while for women, a higher proportion of body mass is made up of fat.
If the weight loss prior to chronic disease is primarily muscle and bone loss, this may explain the difference between men and women. Some of this may work to explain why weight loss is more associated with mortality than reduction in waist circumference.