Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Rural Elderly Women in Liaoning Province and Its Risk Factors

  Objective  To investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among rural elderly women and its risk factors.

  Methods  A cross-sectional cluster survey was conducted during 2004-2005 in Liaoning province, China. A total of 3232 elderly women age ≥ 60 years were enrolled. Their baseline lifestyle and other factors were obtained. Overweight and obesity were separately defined according to both the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and Chinese criteria.

  Results  When the WHO criteria were applied, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 17.7% and 2.2%, respectively. When the Chinese criteria were applied, the corresponding figures were 23.7% and 5.8%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that Mongolian nationality and current drinking were the risk factors for overweight or obesity. Aging and current smoking status were negatively correlated with overweight and obesity.

  Conclusions  Although the prevalence of obesity was low, the prevalence of overweight was relatively high among rural elderly women. Unhealthy lifestyle, aging, and ethnicity are risk factors of overweight and obesity in this population.