Prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade abdominal em idosos de um município do interior do Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic non-communicable disease, of multifactorial and complex origin, and is considered a public health problem due to its epidemic proportions. In addition to being considered a disease, obesity is also an important risk factor for the development of numerous adverse health conditions. In Brazil and around the world, the prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically in recent years. Data estimates that by 2025 the global population of overweight adults will reach 2.3 million and more than 700 million obese adults. Therefore, tackling obesity must reach the entire life cycle, so that the human aging process is healthy. The objective of this work was to identify the prevalence of overweight and abdominal obesity in elderly people in the community. A cross-sectional study was carried out with all people living in the municipality of Coxilha, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), aged 60 years or over, living in urban and rural areas. The variables studied were: personal and family information, housing conditions, health conditions and lifestyle habits, functional assessment, use and access to health services, nutritional status and eating practices and physical activity. The outcome, overweight, was assessed by calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI) and the outcome, abdominal obesity, was assessed by Waist Circumference (WC). Data were entered into statistical software. For qualitative variables, simple absolute and relative frequencies were presented and for quantitative variables, measures of central tendency and dispersion were calculated. For the association between the outcome, general and abdominal obesity, and the exposure variables, the chi-square test was applied. Afterwards, Poisson regression was performed to estimate the prevalence ratio and respective confidence interval, the significance level adopted was 5%. 519 elderly people were evaluated. The highest prevalence of overweight was identified in the age group between 60 and 79 years old, females (61.9%) and those who reported having a Chronic Noncommunicable Disease (NCD), 85.5%. The prevalence of overweight was 39.6% lower among elderly people without NCDs. Elevated WC was also associated with the presence of NCDs. The results obtained show the importance of adopting prevention and intervention measures to combat overweight and obesity in the elderly.