Diet Study Has Good News for Older Adults Trying to Lose Weight

According to SlashGear , a new study led by the University of Warwick debunks the assertion that weight loss becomes harder with age. Investigators report in Clinical Endocrinology that adults older than 60 can lose weight just as effectively as younger people. They analyzed data on 242 patients involved with a "hospital-based obesity service" and divided into two groups, one for those under 60 and the other for people between 70 and 78. Participants spent about the same amount of time in the program and underwent weight loss that was "equivalent statistically." The program exclusively involved lifestyle changes, including mental health support and diet changes, without surgery or medication. "Age should be no barrier to lifestyle management of obesity," explained lead study author Thomas Barber. "Rather than putting up barriers to older people accessing weight loss programs, we should be proactively facilitating that process. To do otherwise would risk further and unnecessary neglect of older people through societal ageist misconceptions."