Weight loss may mean a risk of death for older adults

Question

This CNN article reports that a study claims that weight loss can lead to deaths on older adults. Is this true? Does this mean weight loss is not the perfect health benefit it is proposed to be?

Answer 1

I believe this claim is true or false to a certain extent. 

According to an article from Healthline, "According to many experts, losing 1–2 pounds (0.45–0.9 kg) per week is a healthy and safe rate (1, 2, 3 ). Losing more than that is considered too fast and could put you at risk of many health problems, including muscle loss, gallstones, nutritional deficiencies and a drop in metabolism ( 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 )." Implying that losing weight in general, is not necessarily bad for your health, but depending on how fast it took you to lose weight plays a role in getting health problems and earlier death. 

HealthLine

According to the CDC, "Even a modest weight loss of 5% to 10% of your total body weight is likely to produce health benefits, such as improvements in blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugars."

CDC

An article from WebMD lists symptoms of rapid weight loss, which could lead to more serious health problems, "Possible serious risks include: Gallstones, which occur in 12% to 25% of people losing large amounts of weight over several months, Dehydration, which can be avoided by drinking plenty of fluids, Malnutrition, usually from not eating enough protein for weeks at a time, Electrolyte imbalances, which rarely can be life threatening. Other side effects of rapid weight loss include: Headaches, Irritability, Fatigue,    Dizziness, Constipation, Menstrual irregularities, Hair loss, Muscle loss." Making it apparent that most risks of losing weight resulting in more life-threatening health problems are heightened by how rapid the weight loss was. 

WebMD

This claim is further corroborated by Cleveland Clinic and highlights the importance of gaining muscle mass as you lose weight, as rapid weight loss is associated with starving yourself of essential nutrients such as protein which is needed to create muscle mass. The article mentions the risks of not lifting weights and eating in an unhealthy way to lose weight rapidly, "Healthy weight loss isn’t just about what you eat. You need physical activity if you want maximum results. Cardiovascular exercise like walking burns calories, but strength training is just as important. When you lift weights or do resistance training, you increase muscle mass. And when you have more muscle mass, you: Burn more calories, even at rest. Improve your balance and reduce your risk of falls. Reduce joint pain and symptoms of arthritis so you can keep moving and losing weight. Strengthen your bones and reduce your risk of fractures and osteoporosis." 

ClevelandClinic

Therefore, this claim is true or false to a certain extent because actually gaining weight at a normal pace, exercising, and eating well can lead to many benefits; however, losing weight in an unhealthy weight rapidly may lead to many bad health outcomes, leading to early death.  

Comments

Your fact-check is detailed and well-sourced. Nice work.

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Answer 2

This claim is true, however a more accurate claim would be "weight loss was found to be an indicator for risk of death in adults in a JAMA Network study"

The CNN article references a study that was published in the JAMA network. The study found that a 5% and 10% loss of body weight in healthy adult males were associated with 33% and 289% increases in mortality. For women, the increases in mortality were 26% and 114% for the same respective levels of weight loss.

The CNN article says that the correlation between weight loss and mortality does not mean losing weight causes death. Weight loss can be an indicator for health issues such as inflamation, loss of appetite, and metabolic problems. The weight loss simply signals that health issues are present.

Weight loss is not inherently a health benefit. An article from Healthline gives an overview on the different types of body weight loss. Typically weight loss from body fat is considered a health benefit, however weight loss from body muscle is detrimental to health.

Comments

You performed an excellent job of confirming the legitimacy of this source. It methodically documents every piece of pertinent information while ensuring that the whole thing is both legible and informative.

Answer 3

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It gets a bit controversial when we say the eight loss in older adults is associated with early death but gaining weight isn't. The impact of weight on older adults is still something not fully understood by medical professionals, and requires more research. According to AAFP, unintentional weight loss is actually associated with possible nonmalignant diseases. There are a lot of factors that can be overlooked, including the use of certain medications throughout an individuals lifetime and for those on medication being 65>. To figure out if losing weight truly has to do with a risk of death, more imaging and invasive testing, along with observation periods need to be conducted. There is no ready identifiable cause according to statistics from AAFP.

According to NCBI, weight loss in elderly patients is an important factor. Unintentional weight loss reflects disease severity, according to the statistics provided by NCBI. Voluntary weight loss is worse, and also highlights the importance of maintaining weight with age. Weight loss among elderly actually varies tremendously. 

Answer 4

The claim is true, however it is easy to understand how at a quick glance it might be misinterpreted.

According to https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/sudden-weight-loss, weight loss peaks at around 60 and gradually decays. Roughly half a pound a year after age 70. The issue that could lead to an early death which is what CNN is claiming is sudden weight loss. The study found that a 5% decrease in weight increases mortality which might be true. 5% of an average human is far greater than 0.5 pounds which is not healthy.

Answer 5

This claim is true, however, similar to someone else's reply, this statement should be more so understood as "weight loss can lead to the death of older adults in certain cases."

Any rapid change in a human body can have dramatic effects, and weight loss can be a sign of other underlying conditions which could lead to death for older adults. The CNN article you shared does explain mortality rates increasing due to weight loss, but weight loss may not be the inherent cause of the death.

An article by Renew Bariatrics explains that some weight changes in adults have positive health benefits while some weight changes have negative ones. It also goes into details of certain ways weight loss/weight gain can be done in a healthy way. For example, rapid weight loss can have negative effects on the body while a slow weight loss process is less harmful.

https://renewbariatrics.com/healthy-weight-loss-vs-unhealthy-weight-loss/

Answer 6

A new study shows that weight loss in older adults is associated with early death and life-limiting conditions. The study looked at 17,000 adults at least 70 years old in Australia and more than 2,000 adults in the united states who were at least 65 years old. The study found that even a 5% weight loss increases mortality risk, particularly in older men. The study also accounted for health issues at the start, it excluded people who had conditions like cardiovascular disease, detention, physical disabilities, or chronic illness.  The reason why weight loss may be a risk factor for mortality is that it can signal underlying issues, and it may be a warning sign for conditions like cancer and dementia. These underlying conditions can trigger weight loss in older adults by impacting appetite, metabolism, and eating habits.

Article: https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/weight-loss-may-mean-a-risk-of-death-for-older-adults-study-shows/

Answer 7

This claim is true. There was research investigation to study the association between weight fluctuation in older individuals and mortality. Performing surveys over the course of 10 years across various ethnicities, researches found an association between weight change and higher mortality. Moreover, the recommendation for middle aged and older adults is to prevent weight loss or weight gain. The goal is to maintatin weight stability, especially within the non-obese range.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5803382/

Answer 8

This claim is true. A study that looked at 17,000 people around 70 years of age from Australia and around 2,000 people around 65 from the United States showed that weight loss "is associated with early death and life-limiting conditions." Specifically the researchers "found that even a 5% weight loss increases mortality risk, particularly in older men."

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/weight-loss-may-mean-a-risk-of-death-for-older-adults-study-shows/#:~:text=Local%20News-,Weight%20loss%20may%20mean%20a%20risk,for%20older%20adults%2C%20study%20shows&text=MIAMI%20%2D%20As%20much%20as%20people,death%20and%20life%2Dlimiting%20conditions.

Answer 9

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3943169-seniors-weight-loss-increased-death-rate/

This article references the same study that the CNN article did. Although, an important distinction to make is that losing weight doesn't make old people die faster. Rather, the same things that may cause old people to lose weight are usually connected to dangerous health conditions and diseases.

Answer 10

This claim is misleading. It is not incorrect, but it is phrased in a way that lacks clarity.

According to the study done by the JAMA network, they found a correlation between weight loss and mortality if the body weight percentage is more than 10%. While there is a correlation, it is not necessarily causative for death.

There are also different causes of weight loss, some can be preexisting illnesses. So, weight loss is not necessarily a good thing. Losing too much weight too quickly can cause multiple health issues, such as nutrient deficiencies, cramps, irritability, fatigue, dizziness, and more.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2803643?utm_campaign=articlePDF&utm_medium=articlePDFlink&utm_source=articlePDF&utm_content=jamanetworkopen.2023.7482

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/losing-weight-too-fast#TOC_TITLE_HDR_4