Background: Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in India, with morbid obesity affecting 5% of the countrys population.
Objectives: To measure the prevalence and determinants of overweight and obesity among elderly people in our urban field practice area of Puducherry, India.
Material and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Muthialpet, an urban area in Puducherry, which comes under the field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Puducherry, India, from January to December 2013. Study population included 682 elderly aged 60 years and above. Data were collected by house-to-house survey using WHO STEPS questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS software, version 16.0. Simple proportions were calculated, and χ2-test was applied for statistical significance; p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
Results: Prevalence of overweight was 41.4% and of obesity was 4.5%. Religion, education, occupation, smoking, and alcohol consumption were found to be significantly associated with overweight/obesity.
Conclusion: Prevalence of overweight was found to be high among elderly persons in the study area.
Key words: Overweight/obesity, elderly, prevalence, determinants
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