Change in body weight of older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal results from the Berlin Aging Study II

Abstract

Objectives: Change in body weight during the COVID-19 pandemic as an unintended side effect of lockdown measures has been predominantly reported for younger and middle-aged adults. However, information on older adults for which weight loss is known to result in adverse outcomes, is scarce. In this study we describe the body weight change in older adults before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown measures and explore putative associated factors with a focus on the period that includes the first six months of the COVID-19 containment measures.

Design: Prospective cohort study with three follow-up examinations over the course of 10 years.

Setting and participants: In this study, we analyzed the longitudinal weight change of 472 participants of the Berlin Aging Study II (mean age of 67.5 years at baseline).

Measurements: Body weight was assessed at four time points. Additionally, differences between subgroups characterized by socio-economic, cognitive, and psychosocial variables as well as morbidity burden, biological age markers (epigenetic clocks, telomere length), and frailty were compared.

Results: On average, women and men lost 0.87% (n = 227) and 0.5% (n = 245) of their body weight per year in the study period covering the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Weight loss among men was particularly pronounced among groups characterized by change in physical activity due to COVID-19 lockdown, low positive affect, premature epigenetic age (7-CpG clock), diagnosed metabolic syndrome, and a more masculine gender score (all variables: p < 0.05, n = 245).

Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, older participants lost weight with a 2.5-times (women) and 2-times (men) higher rate than what is expected in this age.

Keywords: Ageing; Body weight; COVID-19; Lockdown restrictions; Weight change; Weight loss.