The tummy mummies: Half of Irish women over 50 are obese
... and need more exercise
A LEADING professor is urging older people to get active as figures show over half of women aged 50 to 64 are ‘centrally obese’.
This is a medical term used to describe health-endangering excess weight around the midriff.
Professor Rose Anne Kenny, head of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College, said 70% of people over 50 are not getting the recommended amount of exercise – 30 minutes of brisk walking five times a week.
She also warned that obesity can lead to dementia in later life.
The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, TILDA, examined the social, economic and health of 8,175 adults over 50 years old.
The extensive study was carried out between 2009 and 2015.
According to the research, there was an increase in central obesity – based on waist circumference measurement – in women aged 50 to 64. As many as 57% of women in this age group had a ‘substantially increased’ waist in the 2015 study, compared to 49% in the first study.
The TILDA study found that 36% of adults in Ireland are obese, while a further 43% are overweight based on their body mass index). A higher proportion of men (38%) are obese than women (33%). The study also found that one in ten aged over 50 has diabetes (9.5%). Yesterday Prof. Kenny, director of the new Mercers Institute of Successful Ageing at St James’s Hospital, said older people should ensure they get the recommended exercise and a decent diet.
St James’s is hosting a series of lectures to coincide with Positive Ageing Week 2017 this week.
Prof. Kenny, who will deliver a speech on the ageing process in Trinity on Wednesday, said: ‘What is not widely appreciated is that things like obesity, hypertension, diabetes and lack of physical exercise are big risk factors for something that worries a lot of people about ageing: dementia.
‘If you manage mid-life obesity – between the ages of 40 to 65 – and high blood pressure and diabetes, and ensure adequate amounts of physical activity, you reduce the likelihood of getting dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by up to 40%. This is more than the effect you will get from any drug.
‘In the TILDA study, 70% of people were not taking the minimum requirement of exercise in a week. There are some things we can do – something which will have a huge benefit on positive ageing as we get older.’
Another section of the report found that the majority of older adults do not meet the 2012 Department of Health Food Pyramid recommendations. Around 76% do not meet the daily intake for fruit and vegetables, and 68% over-consume food and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar.
Trinity researchers also found that one in eight older people were deficient in vitamin D. This increased to one in four during the winter period. Prof. Kenny said it is important older people consider taking a supplement.
The first TILDA study found arthritis is more common among obese people: 44% in overweight women, compared with 25% of those with a normal weight. Around 21% of centrally obese men reported at least one cardiovascular disease compared to 14% of men with a normal waist circumference. Corresponding rates for women are 17% compared to 11%.
leah.mcdonald@dailymail.ie
Over-consuming fatty, salty foods