RELATION OF WEIGHT VARIABILITY AND INTENTIONALITY OF WEIGHT-LOSS TO DISEASE HISTORY AND HEALTH-RELATED VARIABLES IN A POPULATION-BASED SAMPLE OF WOMEN AGED 55-69 YEARS

The authors examined the relation of recalled weight variability and h istory of intentional and unintentional weight loss with disease histo ry in 41,837 older women. Lifetime history of disease, current medicat ion use, health-related behaviors, body weight, and intentional and un intentional weight loss episodes of at least 20 lbs (9.1 kg) were asse ssed by means of two surveys, completed 6 years apart. Weight variabil ity, as measured by the root mean square error around the linear regre ssion line of weight on age at ages 18, 30, and 40 years, was positive ly related to disease history. Women who reported losing greater than or equal to 20 Ibs (greater than or equal to 9.1 kg) unintentionally b etween the ages 18 and 39 years were more likely to report a history o f disease than were women who had never lost greater than or equal to 20 Ibs (29.1 kg) during this age period. intentional weight loss episo des of greater than or equal to 20 lbs (greater than or equal to 9.1 k g) between ages 18 and 39 years were also associated with higher cumul ative disease prevalence. These results suggest that both unintentiona l and, to a lesser degree, intentional weight loss may contribute to t he observed positive relation between weight loss or variability and d isease. Prospective studies are needed to confirm whether weight varia bility is a risk factor for disease only when unintentional, or whethe r intentional weight loss also increases risk.