Is frailty more common in older adults with a high sugar diet? – Medical Information Bulletin

Frailty in the elderly increases the risk of injury and death Researchers investigated whether a diet containing large amounts of added sugars was badociated with an increased rate of frailty. 19659004] Aging is often badociated with a decrease in strength and mobility, which can make independent living more difficult.Fibrility increases the risk of falling and frail adults are more likely to need to get older. 39 Housing in a care facility Overall, frail adults are at greater risk of death than more robust adults of the same age, presenting at least three of the following traits:

• Exhaustion
• Low level of activity
• Low speed of walking
• Unintentional weight loss
• Muscular weakness

It is important to understand which way of life and health factors can increase an adult's chances of becoming frail as he gets older. Diet is an important determinant of health. Diets high in sugar, sugary foods and drinks in particular increase the risk of developing age-related diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Researchers have hypothesized that diets rich in sugars become frail. A Spanish research group recently conducted a clinical study to determine whether frailty was more common among older people who consumed a diet high in added sugar. The results of their study were recently published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .

The researchers conducted a three-year study of 1,973 Spanish adults aged at least 60 years old, with an average age. of 68, also divided between male and female. None of the study participants were suffering from dementia or Alzheimer 's disease and none of them was frail at the beginning of the study. The study participants underwent a physical examination and provided detailed information on their health, lifestyle, economic and social status. They also completed a detailed and comprehensive survey of their eating habits. Study participants had the same review and the same investigations three years later, at the end of the study period

The dietary survey was used to determine the amount of added sugar in their daily diet. Added sugar was defined as sugar in foods such as syrups, sweets, soft drinks, baked goods and other processed foods. This does not include natural sugar in foods such as fruits and vegetables. They determined how many study participants became frail over the three-year period and used a sophisticated statistical method to determine if frailty was more common among participants who consumed more added sugar in their diets. . Their statistical methodology has also allowed them to consider other lifestyle and health factors that may also affect the likelihood of developing frailty. They took into account age, bad, education, smoking, body mbad index, energy intake, other diseases, diet Mediterranean food, time spent watching television and the level of physical activity

. more likely to become frail

During the three-year study, 140 study participants, or 7% of all participants, developed a frailty. One-third of participants who consumed the most added sugar were 2.3 times more likely to develop frailty than those in the lower third. Of the five possible criteria for frailty, only unintended weight loss and low activity levels were badociated with increased consumption of added sugars. One-third of participants who consumed the most added sugar were 1.5 times more likely to have low levels of activity and almost twice as likely to see unintentional weight loss.

The type of food in which these sugars were present seemed to affect the outcome. For example, study participants who consumed the most table sugar, or sugar in honey and syrups, were not more likely to develop frailty. Researchers also found that the consumption of sugars naturally present in foods, such as those of fruits and vegetables, did not increase the risk of frailty.

It is interesting to note that participants consuming more added sugars were not more likely overweight or obese, despite consuming a lot more calories. However, obese adults with more added sugar in their diet were almost four times more likely to become frail adults than obese adults who consumed less added sugar.

There were some limitations to this study. More importantly, it was a strictly observational study, which meant that she could not conclusively prove that a diet containing large amounts of added sugars increased the risk fragility. This would require experimental manipulation of the diets, which the researchers did not do. In addition, the study did not distinguish between natural and added sugars in foods of the "added sugar" group. For example, all the sugar in the deserts was treated as added sugar, although some was naturally present, as in a fruit dessert. It is also possible that other nutritional components of sweet foods, such as fat, play a role.

A diet high in added sugar is a potential risk factor for frailty

Older people who consumed more added sugar were more likely to become frail over a three-year period. The consumption of naturally occurring sugars in foods has not affected the risk of developing frailty. Researchers have suggested that there is a need for studies that will experimentally determine whether added sugar directly causes frailty or whether it is simply badociated with other health or style factors. of life that are the real cause.

Bryan Hughes, PhD

Reference: Laclaustra, M., Rodriguez-Artalejo, F., Guallar-Castillon, P., Banegas, JR, Graciani, A., Garcia-Esquinas, E., Ordovas, J. & Lopez-Garcia, E. Prospective badociation between added sugars and frailty in the elderly. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 107, 772-779 (2018)