Effect of Body Weight, Waist Circumference and Their Changes on Mortality: A 10-Year Population-Based Study

Objectives To investigate the effect of body weight, waist circumference and their changes on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Design A nationwide population-based cohort study Participants 627 community-dwelling older adults. Measurements Participants were interviewed for demographic and anthropometric data collected. Blood were drawn for testing biochemistry data. Central obesity was defined as waist circumference is greater than 80 cm for women and 90 cm for men. Obesity, overweight, normal and underweight were defined as BMI ≥27 kg/m2, ≥24 kg/m2,18.5-24 kg/m2 and 5% (HR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.8) and waist decrease >5% (HR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.0-2.8) were higher than those of stable weight/waist +/- 5% over a 6-year period. Compared to those stable weight/waist, the mortality risk was similar in those of weight gain or waist increase (HR 0.7,95%CI: 0.4-1.5 and HR:0.9, 95%CI:0.4-1.6). Conclusion Weight loss and waist decrease were significantly associated with long-term mortality risk, a life-course approach for body weight management is needed to pursuit the most optimal health benefits for the middle-aged and older adults.