By Steve Syre
Research by LTSS Center fellows suggests that social relationships can impact health behaviors and psycho-social characteristics related to weight control and obesity.
Obesity is a leading health risk to people of all ages, but weight issues are especially prevalent among older adults. Seven of every 10 adults age 65 and older are overweight or obese, and those approaching retirement age have the highest rate of weight gain.
Fellows at the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston are conducting research on obesity among older adults to better understand factors behind their weight issues and how to address them.
“Obesity research has primarily focused on prevention among children and younger adults,” said fellow Jane Tavares. “But we have a growing older population that is already overweight or obese and they’re still gaining weight. We need to find factors that may mitigate the already high obesity rate.”
A FOCUS ON SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
In particular, the study is focused on how social relationships may influence obesity among older adults and the pathways through which older adult become obese. The study is believed to be the first research focused exclusively on social relationships and elder obesity using nationally representative data.
The early results: Positive and negative social relationships do indeed matter. But Tavares said that individual social relationship factors, which she measured in her early research, didn’t show a significant impact.
“What ended up coming through was the quality of all those relationships put together, not any one individual relationship” said Tavares. “What mattered was whether your social network as a whole was giving you generally positive or negative support.”
DEVELOPING PRELIMINARY DATA
The study began as the subject of Tavares’s doctoral dissertation, which used Health Retirement Study (HRS) data from 2006 and 2010 as its foundation. The current research is using later HRS information, which recently became available, to develop deeper statistical profiles and create a longer-term look at overweight older adults.
Tavares, who received her Ph.D. in gerontology at UMass Boston in 2018, is joined in the research by Edward Miller, also a LTSS Center fellow and a gerontology professor at UMass Boston, and Jeffrey Burr, chair of the UMass Boston gerontology department.
The early study results looked at personal data for about 4,249 older adults who contributed to the HRS 2006 and 2010 reports. A profile of group members includes the following data point:
- 1,630 of group members were age 51 to 64, and 2,619 were age 65 or older.
- 68 was the group’s mean age.
- 57% of group members were women.
- 78% of group members were Non-Hispanic White, 15% were Non-Hispanic Black,
5% were Hispanic, and 2% were Non-Hispanic other. - $63,384.39 was the mean household income.
- About 1 in every 3 group members was employed.
- 28% of the group experienced limitations in one or more activities of daily living
HOW SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AFFECT WEIGHT: THE ROLES OF EXERCISE AND ANXIETY
Tavares also used the early HRS data to try to identify pathways through which social relationships influence obesity among older adults.
The quality of overall relationships was associated with exercise patterns that affected weight for older adults age 51 to 64 and those age 65 and older. People with higher-quality and more supportive social networks tended to be more active and had a lesser likelihood of obesity.
Among those age 51 to 64, anxiety was identified as a pathway that could exacerbate negative aspects of social relationships and increase the risk of obesity. But anxiety did not appear to have a significant influence related to obesity among those age 65 and older.
“The takeaway here is that our social relationships can impact our health behaviors and psycho-social characteristics that are related to weight control and obesity,” Tavares said.
HELPING OLDER ADULTS DEAL WITH OBESITY
Early research results suggest health care providers should look beyond physical health indicators when assessing wellness of older adults, and should consider the social support resources available to patients, said Tavares. She said the study also supported the utility of support groups for maintaining a healthy weight, promoting an overall healthy lifestyle, and fostering positive social relationships.
“The vast majority of our middle-aged and older adult population in the U.S. is overweight or obese, putting them at greater risk for many serious illnesses and a higher mortality rate,” said Tavares. “We need to gain a better understanding of factors related to obesity that go beyond simple exercise and nutrition so that we can employ more well-rounded intervention strategies.”