Obesity Prevalence Among Older People in Tabriz, Iran: Data from Health Status of Aged People in Tabriz (HSA-T) Study

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the obesity prevalence in a representative sample of community-dwelling older adults in Tabriz, Iran. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting(s): Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Participants: A representative sample of 1071 (514 males and 557 females) community-dwelling older adults aged≥60 years were selected using the probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling method. Then, anthropometric measures were conducted on 1041 subjects (506 males and 535 females). Outcome Measures: Anthropometric measures including weight, height, body mass index (BMI), hip circumference (HC), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR) were conducted and used for the evaluation of overweight and obesity. Obesity was determined according to traditional BMI classifications and population-appropriate WC criterion cut-offs for the estimation of central adiposity. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 37.4%, 95% CI: 34.5 to 40.4 and 34.3%, 95% CI: 31.4 to 37.3, respectively. Obesity was more prevalent in females (46.6%, 95% CI: 36.9 to 57.2) than in males (21.2, 95% CI: 13.5 to 30.3), but the overweight prevalence was greater in males. Moreover, mean BMI was lower in males than in females (26.9±4.2 kg/ m2 vs. 29.9±6.0 kg/m2 ; P<0.001) and significantly decreased with increasing age. Similarly, mean WC was lower in males than in females (99.7±13.6 cm vs. 102.3±14.3 cm; P=0.002) and decreased significantly with age. Conclusions: The high prevalence of obesity in older people highlights the necessity of designing effective healthy lifestyle interventions and national policies to focus on dietary modification and lifestyle changes and promote physical activity to reduce obesity in aged people, particularly in older Iranian women.