What this means
A group program did not lead to lower body weight after two years. People did eat better and move more, but their weight did not drop.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- 678 older adults with overweight or obesity
- Kind of research
- A clinical trial in people
The science
- Original title
- Body weight following a multidomain lifestyle intervention in older adults at risk of dementia - A post-hoc analysis of the AgeWell.de-trial.
- Authors
- Zülke AE, Schultz A, Luppa M et al.
- Journal
- BMC geriatrics
- Published
- Oct 16, 2026
- Study type
- Clinical trial · in humans
- PMID
- 42881367 ↗
Abstract
Background
Lifestyle interventions provide a promising approach to address higher body weight as a risk factor for dementia. The AgeWell.de-trial was primarily designed to preserve cognitive function and reduce dementia risk. In this post-hoc analysis, we investigated body weight following the multidomain intervention among older adults with overweight or obesity, as well as the role of motivation and confidence regarding weight loss.
What they did
Analyses used data from the cluster-randomized AgeWell.de-trial, testing a multidomain intervention (dietary counselling, enhancement of physical, social and cognitive activity, medication review, intervention for cardiovascular risk factors, depressive symptoms/grief, if applicable) over 24 months in adults aged 60 to 77 years at risk for dementia. Associations between intervention allocation and body weight at follow-up were analyzed using linear regression, controlling for covariates, based on multiply imputed data.
What they found
The sample included n = 678 participants with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m², mean age (SD): 68.9 (4.8), 52.1% female. Group allocation was not associated with body weight at 24-month follow-up (b (unstandardized regression coefficient) = -0.30, 95% CI: -0.51; 1.11). Older age (b = -0.14, 95% CI: -0.25; -0.03) and a high level of education (b = -1.28, 95% CI: -2.55; 0.00) were linked to lower body weight at follow-up, while higher baseline body weight predicted higher body weight at follow-up (b = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91; 0.98). Levels of motivation and confidence regarding weight loss remained high but stable in both groups, regardless of group allocation. In this post-hoc analysis, group allocation was not associated with lower body weight at follow-up. Despite high levels of motivation and confidence regarding weight loss and favorable changes in diet and physical activity in the intervention group, these changes did not translate into measurable weight loss.
Other details
AgeWell.de was prospectively registered in the German Clinical Trials Register on December 7th, 2017 (DRKS trial identifier DRKS00013555).
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Zülke AE, Schultz A, Luppa M et al. Body weight following a multidomain lifestyle intervention in older adults at risk of dementia - A post-hoc analysis of the AgeWell.de-trial. BMC geriatrics. 2026. doi:10.1186/s12877-026-08492-6. PMID: 42881367. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42881367/