Baby-boomers have spent more years living with more obesity than the
previous generation, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
(BIDMC) have found. Although it may be too early to tell whether this
will lead to a rise in arthritis rates, the study shows more obesity-related
arthritis among baby boomers compared to the previous generation.
The study, published in the September issue of the American Journal
of Public Health, concluded that obesity rates grew substantially
for the baby-boomer generation (born 1946-1965) when compared to the « silent
generation » (born 1926-1945). Obesity also increased for the baby-boomers
at a younger age than the silent generation.
« We found that the obesity epidemic has affected both the baby-boomers
and their predecessors but that the baby-boomers got a much earlier start,
and have spent more of their lives in an obese state even though we’ve
known that they have had better access to nutrition and information about
exercise for much of their lives » says Suzanne Leveille, PhD, senior
author of the study.
Arthritis risk soared along with
the obesity rates of the baby-boomers, and arthritis cases attributed
to obesity rose from 3 percent to 18 percent between 1971 and 2002.
Many factors can be attributed to this rise, including the way
physicians diagnose arthritis over time, but researchers say the rise
in obesity cannot be ignored.
« Baby-boomers are just approaching the age when arthritis rates
begin to rise dramatically. Many baby-boomers have lived with obesity
for much of their lives. We can expect to see the health and functional
consequences of this epidemic in the coming decades »says Leveille.
« Public health strategies to address obesity and arthritis management
could have a major impact on the lives of aging baby-boomers in the years
to come. »
The
researchers used data collected by the US Bureau of the Census and the
National Center for Health Statistics. The researchers explored the
1980 to 2000 decennial censuses and the results from the 1971 to 2002
National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).
In
addition to Leveille, study co-authors included BIDMC investigators
Christina Wee, MD, MPH, and Lisa Iezzoni, MD, MSc. The authors are all
with the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at BIDMC and the
Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
This study
was supported by grants from the Arthritis Foundation, the National
Bureau of Economics Research, the National Institute on Aging and the
Lasker Foundation.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a major patient care, teaching
and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and ranks third in National
Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC
is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a founding
member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official
hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit http://www.bidmc.harvard.edu.