SAGE-Hindawi Access to Research Journal of Aging Research Volume 2011, Article ID 392510, 8 pages doi:10.4061/2011/392510 Review Article The Impact of Behavioral Intervention on Obesity Mediated Declines in Mobility Function: Implications for Longevity Joe Nocera,1, 2 Thomas W. Buford,2 Todd M. Manini,2 Kelly Naugle,2 Christiaan Leeuwenburgh,2 Marco Pahor,2 Michael G. Perri,3 and Stephen D. Anton2, 3 1 Department of Veterans Aﬀairs, Rehabilitation Research and Development, Brain Rehabilitation Research Center Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA 2 Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA 3 Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Joe Nocera, jnocera@aging.uﬂ.edu and Stephen D. Anton, santon@aging.uﬂ.edu Received 14 April 2011; Accepted 10 August 2011 Academic Editor: Leonard W. Poon Copyright © 2011 Joe Nocera et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. A primary focus of longevity research is to identify prognostic risk factors that can be mediated by early treatment eﬀorts. To date, much of this work has focused on understanding the biological processes that may contribute to aging process and age- related disease conditions. Although such processes are undoubtedly important, no current biological intervention aimed at increasing health and lifespan exists. Interestingly, a close relationship between mobility performance and the aging process has been documented in older adults. For example, recent studies have identiﬁed functional status, as assessed by walking speed, as a strong predictor of major health outcomes, including mortality, in older adults. This paper aims to describe the relationship between the comorbidities related to decreased health and lifespan and mobility function in obese, older adults. Concurrently, lifestyle interventions, including diet and exercise, are described as a means to improve mobility function and thereby limit the functional limitations associated with increased mortality. 1. Introduction The term longevity can be used to refer to a “long life” for an individual or more broadly to life expectancy within a pop- ulation. In recent years, scientists have devoted much at- tention to ﬁnding ways to increase longevity. To date, much of this work has focused on understanding the biological processes that may contribute to aging and age-related disease conditions. A number of potential biological targets have been identiﬁed during the past few decades, and a wide range of intervention approaches are currently being developed. The types of interventions considered to have the potential to aﬀect the aging process include biochemical and genetic techniques, hormonal treatments, and behavioral approaches to reduce age-related comorbidities and thereby increase mean lifespan. Although biological approaches may have signiﬁcant potential in the future, the eﬀects of be- havioral interventions on age-related conditions can be more immediately evaluated and put into practice at the present time. To determine the eﬀectiveness of behavioral interven- tions and other treatment approaches to increase longevity, a benchmark is needed that enables scientists to determine whether or not the intervention was successful. Because it is unrealistic to conduct lifespan studies in humans, a surrogate endpoint is needed to estimate the eﬀect interventions could have on longevity. Recently, gait (i.e., walking) speed—a sim- ple, valid, and reliable clinical test—was considered to be such an endpoint [1]. A growing body of literature has identiﬁed walking speed as a strong predictor of major health outcomes and mortality in older adults [2–4]. In a pooled analysis of nine cohort studies with follow-up periods ranging from 6 to 21 years, declines in gait speed were found to be directly associated with decreased survival [1]. Speciﬁcally, hazard ratios for survival revealed that there was a 12% risk reduction in mortality for every 0.10 meters per