BackgroundObesity affects a large part of elderly individuals worldwide and is
considered a risk predictor for the development of chronic diseases such as
cardiac diseases, the leading causes of death in the elderly population.ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of obesity and associated factors, with
emphasis on the occurrence of other diseases and on food consumption in
elderly individuals treated at the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema
Único de Saúde, SUS).MethodsCross-sectional sampling study performed in the city of Goiânia
(Brazil) including elderly individuals (≥ 60 years) receiving primary
care. During home visits, we performed anthropometric measurements and
applied a structured, standardized, and pre-tested questionnaire assessing
socioeconomic, demographic and lifestyle conditions, occurrence of diseases,
and food consumption. We performed multiple Poisson regression analysis
using a hierarchical model and adopting a significance level of 5%.ResultsWe evaluated 418 elderly patients with a mean age of 70.7 ± 7 years.
Their body mass indices had a mean value of 27.0 kg/m2 and were
higher in women than in men (27.4 kg/m2 versus 26.1
kg/m2, respectively, p = 0.017). Obesity had a prevalence of
49.0%, a risk 1.87 times higher between the ages of 60-69 years and 70-79
years, and a rate 1.4 times higher among individuals with more than four
morbidities. On multivariate analysis, the factors associated with obesity
were age 60-69 and 70-79 years, inadequate consumption of whole-wheat grains
and adequate consumption of fruit, musculoskeletal diseases, diabetes
mellitus, and acute myocardial infarction.ConclusionsObesity had a high prevalence in the evaluated elderly population and was
associated with food consumption, musculoskeletal disease, diabetes
mellitus, and acute myocardial infarction.