Reported Weight Change Research Articles

Weight Change, Weight Change Intention, and the Incidence of Mobility Limitation in Well-Functioning Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Obesity increases the risk for functional decline in later years, but the functional consequences of weight change in older adults are currently unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether weight, weight change, and weight change intention are associated with risk for mobility limitation in elderly persons. This study included 2,932 well-functioning black and white men and women aged 70 to 79 years, participating in the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study, who were followed for 30 months. At baseline, reported weight change of 5 or more pounds during the previous year and weight change intention were assessed. Mobility limitation was defined as reported difficulty or inability to walk one-quarter mile or to climb 10 steps during two consecutive semiannual assessments during a period of 30 months. Approximately 30% of participants developed mobility limitation. Higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with increased risk for mobility limitation. Unintentional weight loss in the previous year was associated with increased risk for mobility limitation in the extremely obese, which was defined as BMI >or= 35 (hazard ratios [HR], =3.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.84--7.79), and the normal BMI, which was defined as BMI<25 (HR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.80--3.60). In persons with BMI 25 to 29.9, intentional weight loss (HR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.12--2.25) and weight fluctuation with any intention (HR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.10--2.28) increased the risk for mobility limitation. Unintentional weight gain or fluctuation did not confer additional risk for mobility limitation compared with weight stability, regardless of the level of body weight. In this cohort of well-functioning elderly persons, functional consequences of past weight change depended on the type of weight change, intentionality, and current measured body weight.

Recovery from relapse among successful weight maintainers

Little is known about the natural history of weight change among persons who are successful at losing weight. This study evaluated the occurrence of weight regain and recovery among 2400 persons in the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) who had lost an average (+/- SD) of 32.1 +/- 17.8 kg and had kept it off for 6.5 +/- 8.1 y. Participants were evaluated prospectively over 2 y. The mean reported weight change from entry into the NWCR to 2 y later was 3.8 +/- 7.6 kg. At year 2, 96.4% of the sample remained > or =10% below their maximum lifetime weight. However, small regains were common, and few persons were able to re-lose weight after any weight regain. Of the participants who gained any weight between baseline and year 1 (n = 1483; 65.7%), only 11.0% returned to their baseline weight or below at year 2. Of the participants who relapsed, which was defined as a weight regain of > or =5% at year 1 (n = 575, or 25.5% of the sample), only 4.7% returned to their baseline weight or below at year 2, and only 12.9% re-lost at least half of their year 1 gain by year 2. Logistic regression showed that recovery was related to gaining less at year 1 and to smaller increases in depressive symptoms between baseline and year 1. Although successful weight losers continued to maintain a large percentage of their weight losses over 2 y, recovery from even minor weight regain was uncommon.

Use of beta-blockers in obesity hypertension: potential role of weight gain.

Beta-blockers are the most frequently used drugs for the treatment of hypertension. Apart from concerns regarding potential adverse metabolic effects on lipids or insulin sensitivity, beta-blockers can also cause weight gain in some patients. This fact appears little known to clinical practitioners and trialists. Thus, only a minority of clinical trials with beta-blockers report weight changes during treatment. In trials that do report weight changes, beta-blockers are associated with a weight gain of 1.2 (range -0.4-3.5) kg. This may be attributable to the fact that beta blockade can decrease metabolic rate by 10%. Beta-blockers may also have other negative effects on energy metabolism. Obesity management in overweight hypertensive patients may therefore be more difficult in the presence of beta-blocker treatment. We therefore question the use of beta-blockers as first-line therapy for overweight or obese patients with uncomplicated hypertension.

Weight Change and Body Composition in Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Objective To compare reports of weight loss and actual measures of body composition to predict nutritional risk in patients with Parkinson's disease and matched control subjects.Design Patients and control subjects were asked to record prior changes in weight and activity. Body composition was then compared in both groups using percentage ideal body weight (IBW), body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold (TSF) thickness, midarm muscle circumference, and percentage body fat (BF) as determined by bioelectrical impedance.Subjects Fifty-one free-living patients with Parkinson's disease and 49 matched control subjects were recruited from the neurology clinic and the surrounding area.Main outcome measures We anticipated that reported weight loss would be greater and actual measures of body composition would show greater nutritional risk in the patients with Parkinson's disease.Statistical analyses performed χ2 Analysis was used to determine differences in the ratio of patients and control subjects who lost weight. Paired t tests were used to compare amount of weight change and measures of body composition. Correlations were performed among measures of weight change, body composition, and associated disease factors.Results Patients with Parkinson's disease were four times more likely to report weight loss greater than 10 lb than the matched control subjects (odds ratio>4.2). Patients reported a mean (±standard deviation) weight loss of 7.2±2.9 lb and control subjects reported a mean weight gain of 2.1±1.6 lb (P<.01). Percentage IBW (P<.02), BMI (P<.009), TSF thickness (P<.005), and percentage BF (P<.022) were lower in patients. Significant correlations (P<.01) were found between reported weight change and percentage IBW, BMI, TSF, percentage BF, and stage of the disease.Conclusions/application Patients with Parkinson's disease appear to be at greater nutritional risk than a matched population. Simple screening and assessment tools can be used to detect nutritional risk. J Am Diet Assoc. 1995; 95:979-983.

Parental care and the cost of reproduction in a Mediterranean fish

Symphodus tinca is a common near-shore Mediterranean labrid fish in which females may sometimes spawn their eggs over hundreds of square meters, or alternatively spawn into well-defined algal nests. Eggs spawned in either manner are fertilized, but widely scattered eggs receive no parental care, whereas eggs spawned into nests are usually guarded by the male until they hatch. Here, I report weight changes of individual marked fish that engaged in a variety of different reproductive behaviors during three breeding seasons. Males gained weight at 0.15% per day outside the spawning season, and added 29–78% to their overall body weight between reproductive seasons, even following substantive weight losses in a spawning season (up to 20% among nesting males). Nesting and nest-guarding males lost an average of 0.32% and 0.41% of their body weight per day in 1986 and 1987. This cost is four times greater than reproduction for nonnesting males, which registered a 0.03% daily weight gain. Actively spawning females lost 0.06% of their body weight daily during the spawning season. While long-term growth rates did not appear to be substantially affected by reproduction in either sex or by parental care in males, present work does not exclude the possibility that such long-term effects may exist.

Changes in Body Weight and Conformation of Broad Breasted Bronze Turkeys During the Breeding Season

DIFFERENCES of opinion exist as to changes in body weight, breast width, and keel and shank lengths of Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys during the breeding season. Information of this nature is of interest to those working with turkey improvement programs. Marsden (1939) reported weight changes in Standard Bronze turkeys at intervals from 32 to 84 weeks. Similar data are available in a report by the Purdue Experiment Station (1934) for Bourbon Red turkeys. Weight and measurement data obtained from the 1947 Broad Breasted Bronze breeding flock at Oregon State College are presented here in view of the scarcity of such information.Description of the ExperimentThe breeding flock consisting of 20 toms and 159 hens was obtained from stock considered representative of the Broad Breasted Bronze variety. The birds reported by the grower to have been hatched the middle of May, were moved to the college poultry plant on December .