Correlation of Chronic Conditions and Pain Scale with Varying Levels of Obesity in the Geriatric Population

The overall objective of this study was to establish whether obesity’s contribution to pain is stronger than vice versa – the medical debilities in elderly patients that contribute to obesity. In the process, this study will allow us to achieve whether different age samples with similar BMIs demonstrate the same level of medical complexities in geriatric patients. In summary, the purpose of this research study was to correlate a relationship between obesity and aging. We hypothesized that obesity will contribute to greater pain in the aging population, and that patients – regardless of their age groups in the aging population – will have a tendency to experience more age-related health co-morbidities in a direct correlation with higher BMI, as opposed to elderly patients within normal BMI ranges who experience similar pain. Thus, making obesity the stronger influence towards age-related comorbidities. We aimed to evaluate whether obesity accelerates the aging process versus aging being the major stimulus/cause in our tendency to become obese. In the process of doing so, this study allowed us to: 1) compare geriatric pain level in patients/subjects and thus categorize them into three groups: Mild Pain, Moderate Pain, or Severe Pain; 2) compare individual Body Mass Index (BMI) ranges and determine whether that can be correlated with pain in the aging population; 3) identify whether there is a statistical linkage between chronic medical illnesses subjects possess and their BMI; 4) determine whether younger patients/individuals with similar BMIs experience the same levels of pain and/or health related disabilities as compared to older geriatric patients/individuals possessing the same BMIs; and 5) compare lifestyle habits and onset of obesity before and after the diagnosis of chronic medical conditions