Obesity and Racial Differences in Active Life Expectancy of Older Adults

Sandra L. Reynolds, University of South Florida

Recent research indicates that obesity plays no role in life expectancy for older men or women, but significantly raises the likelihood of experiencing disability during remaining life for both. In this paper, the first three waves of the Asset and Health Dynamics Survey (AHEAD) are used to examine racial differences in the impact of obesity on active life expectancy (ALE) in 70+ adults. A multistate lifetable approach is used, with IMaCh software, to estimate transition probabilities and years spent in disability. Results indicate that obesity has a stronger effect on life expectancy in older African Americans than older Whites. Obesity has a stronger impact on disability in older White than African American males, and a stronger impact on older African American women only. The results of this study imply a complex relationship between obesity and the races at old age, which deserves further research. Implications of these findings are discussed.