Study: Obese Adults More Likely to Become Disabled Later in Life

Even if obese adults are able to lose weight, they are more likely to become disabled later in life, according to researchers at Purdue University in Indiana.

Once the body gets accustomed to a threshold of weight, the obesity may have long-term health consequences, according to the study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Researchers designed a study to see if body mass index (BMI) or change in BMI raises the risk of disability in adulthood.

The relation between BMI and upper- and lower-body disability was studied in 6,833 adults who had participated in a national longitudinal survey. Disabilities measured included such activities as walking a quarter of a mile, getting in and out of a car, or doing light chores.

Adults who were obese at the start of the study or who had become obese during the course of the study were linked with higher levels of upper- and lower-body disability. Those who began the study with a BMI or 30 or more and got down to normal weight did not have a reduced incidence of disability.

Researchers are not clear whether the increase in body weight led to the disability due to stress on the skeletal muscles, change in metabolism in connective tissues or other reasons.

"Disability risk was higher for obese persons, but overweight was not consistently associated with higher disability," concluded the researchers.

Other sources: American Public Health Association