Prevalence disparity of obesity between urban and rural elderly people in Beijing

Objective To investigate the epidemic status of obesity among Beijing elderly people (aged 60 years or above) and the prevalence disparities between urban and rural area. Methods Population-based cross-sectional studies were conducted in 2009 -2010 and 2014 among elderly people aged 60 years or above in Wanshoulu community and Miyun district of Beijing, and their obesity indices were compared and analyzed. Results A total of 2 102 (848 male and 1 254 female) urban and 1 836 (713 male and 1 123 female) rural elderly people were included in our study. The mean BMI was (25.0±3.4)(25.0±3.1) in male, (25.0±3.6) in female among urban people and (24.4±3.5)(23.5±3.1) in male, (25.0±3.6) in female among rural people. The mean waist circumference were (88.3±9.1) cm(91.2±8.5) cm in male, (86.4±8.9) cm in female among urban people and (88.9±9.3) cm(88.0±9.1) cm in male, (89.4±9.3) in female among rural people. The age standardized prevalence of overweight, general obesity and central obesity were 43.6%, 17.0% and 69.9% among urban people (47.0%, 15.7% and 58.3% in male, and 41.4%, 17.8% and 77.1% in female, respectively) and 39.8%, 14.4% and 68.9% among rural people (34.1%, 7.6% and 40.4% in male, and 43.3%, 18.7% and 87.1% in female, respectively). Conclusion The prevalences of overweight, general obesity and central obesity maintain high level, which are higher in urban area than rural area among men but they were higher in rural area than urban area among women. There's a central obesity epidemic in rural women and effective measures are needed urgently.