Researchers Relate Arthritis And Obesity With Baby-Boomers

Researchers had linked the generation of baby boomers (people born between the years 1926 and 1945) with obesity and increased incidence of obesity-related arthritis, than the people from the generation before.

The study was done by the researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and published in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Researchers for the study had concluded that obesity rates grew substantially for the baby-boomer generation when compared to the “silent generation” (born 1926-1945). Obesity also increased for the baby-boomers at a younger age than the silent generation.

They had 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.

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.

Researchers feel that the 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. 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 had used data collected by the US Bureau of the Census and the National Center for Health Statistics. They had explored the 1980 to 2000 decennial censuses and the results from the 1971 to 2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).

Source: Newswise