Key points from article :
Losing weight won’t help you live longer, and the best predictors of a long and healthy life are mobility, strength and balance.
Researchers looked at 5039 women who were over 65 in 2012, with an average age of 79.
Noted the amount of weight gained or lost since 14-18 years prior to the tests.
Women who lost 5% of body weight in previous years were 61% more likely to die in the following five years.
Weight loss is unlikely to have been caused by illness, as the team controlled for other conditions that might affect weight.
People who performed well in physical tests appeared to have the best survival odds.
Women who scored in the top quartile for strength, balance and mobility were 71% more likely to be alive five years later.
Weight gain had no effect on mortality.
“Keep moving, eat a healthy diet – focus on that,” - Lisa Underland, corresponding study author.
Study by Children's Hospital at Montefiore published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
