Literature Review on Overweight, Weight Loss, and Aging in Elderly

This report presents a literature review examining the relationship between overweight, weight loss, and aging, particularly within the elderly population. The review synthesizes findings from four key articles, focusing on research rationale, methodologies, results, limitations, and implications for future research. The articles explore various interventions, including dietary changes, exercise programs, and calorie restriction, to manage weight and improve health outcomes. The review highlights the benefits of combining exercise and dietary components for weight loss and improved physical function, while also acknowledging the limitations of current research and the need for further studies on geriatric obesity. Key themes include the impact of obesity on health, the role of lifestyle interventions, and the importance of considering both benefits and risks in weight management strategies for the elderly. The author concludes with recommendations for healthcare practitioners and individuals, emphasizing the importance of exercise and dietary modifications for effective weight management and improved quality of life.

Running head: OVERWEIGHT AND WEIGHT LOSS 1
Overweight, Weight Loss and Aging
First name Last name
Institution

OVERWEIGHT AND WEIGHT LOSS 2
Introduction
In the current world obesity among the older population is becoming a major health
concern, mostly with the aging age groups. Obesity or overweight is defined as a health
condition which is marked by excess accumulation of fat in the body, these results in increased
risk of developing other health conditions (Nuttall, 2015). In our society, aging and obesity is
rising in elderly and precipitating the huge burden of healthcare as a result of increased fat and
body weight and the main risk factor being inactivity and poor diet. Therefore there is a need for
comprehensive research to investigate major risks and health benefits which are associated with
weight management among the elderly population, in order to ensure quality life and better
health outcome. A static body mass index is commonly known as (BMI), obesity and overweight
usually screen sarcopenia where an individual gains body fat, however, there is loss of functional
capacity and muscle mass (Batsis et al., 2014). A systematic literature review was conducted
using the following key searches; weight loss elderly and obesity which were from four different
articles which focused on the overweight and obesity in the elderly population. The literature
review will focus on major finding from four articles such as the research rationale, sampling
methods utilized, major findings, limitation, conclusions made and implications for future
research.
The title of the first article was the weight loss intervention in older adults who have
obesity. The main focus of this study was to establish various interventions which can be applied
to guide clinical recommendations in weight loss management among geriatric obesity. Authors
focused on weight loss interventions which do not require pharmacological therapies. The
method which was applied during the data collection process was random controlled trials. The
study utilized meta-analyses criteria and the outcomes were quality of life, physical function, and

OVERWEIGHT AND WEIGHT LOSS 3
weight loss. The results of the study were that greater success in weight loss was seen in those
participants who had a dietary element in their plan rather more than those groups which had
exercises alone. According to Batsis et al (2017), exercises do not result in a weight loss but it
causes an individual to have a better physical function of the body. A combination of exercises
and dietary components led to a greater improvement of the physical function of the body,
improved quality of life and also reducing the mass of bones and muscles. The conclusion was
that exercise alone helps in the improvement of the physical functions of the body. However, if
the desired outcome is weight loss, the health practitioners should consider a combination of
dietary and exercise program gives a maximum improvement of physical function and this
enhances the quality of life among the aging helping in mitigating sarcopenia. The limitations of
the study were that there are limited studies which are focusing on obesity in geriatric population
and interventions. Therefore, there is a need for more designed trials in the geriatric population.
The second article was the restriction of calories in overweight adults. This study focused
on determining if the advantages of calories restriction in overweight adults exceed potential
risks. According to Locher et al (2016) there is limited evidence of guidance of restriction of
calories as part of a lifestyle approach in weight loss management in overweight adults.
Therefore the rationale was in three folds, to provide current evidence which has been linked
with restriction of calories in promoting weight loss among the overweight adults, to investigate
the pros and cons of calories restriction when combined with exercise and to consider various
changes which occur to the obese adults after the restriction of calories. Restriction of calories
provides short-term benefits to those obese adults who have physical impairments and risks of
cardio-metabolic diseases. Restriction of calories offers some advantages with respect to loss of
fat mass and weight (Li and Heber, 2012). The restriction of calories results in an improvement

OVERWEIGHT AND WEIGHT LOSS 4
in the ration of quality muscles in the body, there are less adiposity and minimal systemic
inflammation. In this study, the data was collected using seven randomized trials. The results
showed their restriction of calories combined with exercise has a greater effect on maintaining
weight loss. The strength of the article was that all the trials which were conducted in the study
showed a significant weight loss of 5-10% which was encouraging. The limitation of the study
was that there was mixed evidence concerning the outcomes. In addition, the ratio of benefits
and risks in relation to the restriction of calories in overweight adults remains unclear. This calls
for more effective studies to be conducted to pinpoint various strategies which can be used by
overweight adults in the community.
The third article was a review of controversies of weight loss in obese adults 65 years and
older. The aim of this study was to review various controversies which have been linked with
weight loss in overweight adults more than 65 years of age. According to Waters, Ward and
Villareal (2013), there is need of examining the current evidence concerning various
interventions which are applied by overweight adults to lose weight. This will help in coming up
with ways which are effective in marinating weight loss among this population. The study design
was a systemic review and randomized controlled trials. The finding for this study showed that
the only way that this age group can lose weight and maintain physical function is through
lifestyle changes for a period of one year. From all the articles which were reviewed, it is only
one which investigated on weight maintenance. From the study, overweight adults aged 65 years
and old can be able to lose 10% of their weight through lifestyles interventions such as avoiding
calories intake in their diet and participating in exercises. This will result in improved physical
functions and muscle quality of the body. Future studies should focus on various lifestyle

OVERWEIGHT AND WEIGHT LOSS 5
interventions which can be applied by overweight adults focusing on lean body mass, loss of
bone and health outcomes.
The fourth article was obesity and related consequences to aging. The aim of the study
was to combine all the pieces of evidence which have been discovered in relation to various
changes which occur due to aging. According to Jura and Kozak (2016), aging is linked with
various changes which occur in an individual’s physiological processes of the body. The data
which have been generated to be relating to changes in overweight adults have made many
researchers get interested in health problems which occur due to obesity. In this study unlike the
other three studies, there was no data which was conducted. The article reviewed various works
of literature which have been conducted in relation to the consequences of overweight in the
aging population. There are various factors which are linked with the development of overweight
in the older population; these include environmental factors, imbalances of energy, where the
energy taken by an individual is more than the expenditure and genetic factors (Li and Heber,
2012). In addition, the social-economic factor represents a greater part in the development of
obesity among old age. Gender has also been identified to be associated with obesity, however
many types of research do not agree with this statement. Aging is linked with significance
deposition of fats in the white adipose tissues of the abdomen. As a result, the quality of life of
those obese adults is reduced and it results in other health consequences in aging.
In conclusion, the key concepts and themes of the four studies were that obesity has
become a great health concern globally. This is due to various health problems which have been
linked with overweight. Both overweight and aging are capable of causing fatal health issues
which increase the mortality and morbidity. Environmental factors, energy expenditure, and
social-economic factors have been linked with the development of obesity among the elderly. I

OVERWEIGHT AND WEIGHT LOSS 6
disagree that gender is associated with the development of overweight. The strength of the
articles was that exercise results in better function of the body and not merely weight loss.
Greater weight loss has been shown to be observed among those who combine both exercises
and dietary components. In addition, a combination of restriction of calories and exercises is
effective in maintaining weight loss among elderly adults. However, the weakness of the studies
was that they did not show the meal plan when calories are restricted and also how frequent
individuals should exercise on a daily basis. Health practitioners should focus on exercises and
dietary plan if their desire is to achieve weight loss and better physical function of their patients.
However, there is limited evidence which supports various interventions which can help in
reducing geriatric obesity. Therefore, I agree that there is a need for more studies to be conducted
to show the benefits and risks which are linked with the restriction of calories among the older
generation. In addition, there is a need for conducting studies to identify various methods which
are applied by those overweight adults in the community. I relation to this review, Fredric should
consider exercises and lowering calories which have been shown to be effective in weight
management, this will help in improving his quality of life. He should be keener in dietary
elements because exercise alone has not been shown to manage weight.

OVERWEIGHT AND WEIGHT LOSS 7
References
Batsis, J., Gill, L., Masutani, R., Adachi-Mejia, A., Blunt, H., Bagley, P., Lopez-Jimenez, F. &
Bartels, S. (2017). Weight Loss Interventions in Older Adults with Obesity: A Systematic
Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Since 2005. Journal of the American Geriatrics
Society, 65(2), 257-68
Batsis, J. A., Mackenzie, T. A., Barre, L. K., Lopez-Jimenez, F., & Bartels, S. J. (2014).
Sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity and mortality in older adults: results from the National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III. European journal of clinical
nutrition, 68(9), 1001.
Jura, M. & Kozak, L. (2016). Obesity and related consequences to ageing. AGE, 38(23), 19
Li, Z., & Heber, D. (2012). Sarcopenic obesity in the elderly and strategies for weight
management. Nutrition reviews, 70(1), 57-64.
Locher, J., Goldsby, T., Goss, A., Kilgore, M., Gower, B. & Ard, J. (2016). Calorie restriction in
overweight older adults: Do benefits exceed potential risks? Experimental Gerontology,
85, 4-13
Nuttall, F. Q. (2015). Body mass index: obesity, BMI, and health: a critical review. Nutrition
today, 50(3), 117.
Waters, D., Ward, A. & Villareal, D. (2013). Weight loss in obese adults 65 years and older: A
review of the controversy. Experimental Gerontology, 48, 1054-1061