Obesity and its Determinants among Indian Elderly Women: Evidence from Community-based Study

Abstract Introduction: The trend of obesity is increasing in all age groups, especially among elderly women owing to the interplay of aging and lifestyle factors leading to poor quality of life. Obesity among elderly women will be a serious public health concern in the near future because of their sheer number with longer life expectancy. In spite of its significance, there is a dearth of studies on obesity involving solely elderly women in India. Materials and Methods: A community-based study was undertaken in an urban field practice area of a medical college by involving 510 elderly women aged ≥60 years using the Probability-Proportion-to-Size technique. Data on sociopersonal characteristics and lifestyle factors (dietary and physical exercise practices) were collected, and height, weight, body mass index, and waist circumference were recorded by visiting household. Results: The prevalence of generalized and abdominal obesity was 77.3% and 80.6%, respectively. Generalized obesity was associated with age, religion, socioeconomic status, comorbidities, number of meals, plain water intake, and physical exercise ( P < 0.001), whereas abdominal obesity was associated with religion, occupation, socioeconomic status, comorbidities, number of meals, type of diet, and physical exercise ( P < 0.001). Conclusions: More than two-thirds of the elderly women were having generalized and abdominal obesity. Many of the sociopersonal and lifestyle factors were significantly associated with generalized and abdominal obesity which calls for similar research in the future and to develop culturally appropriate interventions.