Study reveals one thing to focus on if you want to live to 100

Study suggests that women who maintain a stable weight over the age of 60 have a better chance of living to 100

Women who kept their weight stable over the age of 60 were more likely to achieve “exceptional longevity” and live to 100, new research suggests.

Those whose weight did not change were between 1.2 and two times more likely to reach the ages of 90, 95 and 100 when compared with those who lost 5 per cent or more of their body weight, a study by researchers at the University of California found.

Aladdin Shadyab, associate professor at the university, said the findings support “stable weight” as a goal for longevity in older women.

“If aging women find themselves losing weight when they are not trying to lose weight, this could be a warning sign of ill health and a predictor of decreased longevity,” he said.

For their study, the researchers examined data from more than 54,000 participants in a US study looking into the causes of chronic diseases among postmenopausal women.

People who are overweight or obese are more at risk from developing conditions such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.

The research found that 56 per cent of women survived to age 90 or beyond. But losing 5 per cent of their weight over a three-year period, when compared with keeping weight stable, was linked to lower odds of exceptional longevity.

The pattern of results was similar among normal weight, overweight and obese women when they looked at those groups separately.

It is common for men and men over the age of 65 in the US and UK to be overweight (PA)

Professor Shadyab added that it was common for older women in the US to be overweight or obese.

In the UK, a healthy body mass index (BMI) score is between 18.5 and 24.9 but the average woman aged 65 to 74 has a BMI of 28.2.

And around three quarters of all adults in that range are overweight or obese, according to NHS data.

It is also common for men in the same age category in both the US and the UK to be overweight or obese.

The study is published in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.