Being overweight in midlife is associated with long-term adverse health and economic consequences in older adulthood, according to a study in JAMA Network Open. Sadiya S. Khan, MD, MsC, and colleagues examined the association of BMI in midlife with morbidity burden, longevity, and healthcare expenditures in adults aged 65 and older. The analysis included 29,621 participants enrolled between November 1967 and January 1973 with linked Medicare follow-up data from 1985 through 2015. Higher cumulative morbidity burden in older adulthood was seen among those who were overweight (7.22 morbidity-years) and those with classes I and II obesity (9.80) versus those with a normal BMI (6.10) in mid-life. There was similar mean age at death for those who were overweight (82.1) and those who had normal BMI (82.3), but it was lower among those with classes I and II obesity (80.8). In older adulthood, cumulative median per-person healthcare costs were significantly higher among overweight participants ($12,390) and those with classes I and II obesity ($23,396) versus those with a normal BMI.
