Background The purpose of this study is to assess the status of physical body indices such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) among the older adults aged 45 and above in India. Further, to explore the association of anthropometric indices with various non-communicable morbidities. Methods The study uses secondary data of the Longitudinal Ageing Survey’s first wave in India (2017–18). The national representative sample for older adults 45 and above (65,662) considered for the analysis. The prevalence of the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) included in the study is based on the self-reporting of the participants. Diseases included are among the top ten causes of death, such as cancer, hypertension, stroke, chronic heart diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and multi-morbidity. Multi-morbidity is a case of having more than one of the morbidities mentioned above. BMI-obese indicates an individual having a BMI ≥30, and the critical threshold value for high-risk WC for men is ≥102 cm while for women is ≥88 cm. The critical limit for the high-risk WHR for men and women is ≥0.90 and ≥ 0.85, respectively. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regressions are used to assess the association BMI, WC, and WHR with non-communicable morbidities. Results Based on the multivariate-adjusted model, odds shows that an Indian older adult aged 45 and above is 2.3 times more likely (AOR: 2.33; 95% CI (2.2, 2.5)) by obesity, 61% more likely (AOR: 1.61; 95% CI (1.629, 1.631)) by high-risk WHR and 98% more likely (AOR: 1.98; 95% CI (1.9, 2.1)) by high-risk WC to develop CVDs than their normal counterparts. Similarly, significant positive associations of obesity, high-risk WC, and high-risk WHR were observed with other NCDs and multi-morbidity. Conclusion Our study shows that obesity, high-risk WC, and high-risk WHR are significant risks for developing NCDs and multi-morbidity among the older adults in India. There is a need for a multi-sectoral approach to reduce the share of the elderly population in high-risk groups of BMIs, WHR, and WC.

Self-rated health (SRH) is a well-established measure in public health to administer the general health of an individual. It can also be used to assess overall health status’ relationship with the social, physical, and mental health of a person. In this study, we examine the association of SRH and various socio-economic & health-related factors such as multi-morbidity status, mental health, functional health, and social participation. Data used in this paper is collated from the first wave of Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) 2017-18. A total of 65,562 older adults aged 45 or above are considered in our study. Various indices (multimorbidity, social participation, functional and mental health) have been created to measure factors influencing the SRH of an individual. Overall, in the study population, around 18.4% of people reported poor SRH. Dominance Analysis results show that the contribution of multimorbidity in predicting poor SRH is highest, followed by functional health, mental health, and social participation. In a developing country like India, there is a dire need for policies having a holistic approach regarding the health and well-being of the older population.