Trends in underweight, overweight and body mass index among elderly population of Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate body mass index (BMI - kg/m2) trend of the elderly (superior 60 y) in the poorest (Northeast) and richest (Southeast) regions of Brazil.


METHODS
Household surveys conducted in 1975, 1989 and 1997 measured weight and stature of a probabilistic sample of about 18,000 elderly people. Weighted prevalences were calculated and analysis took into account the sample design.


RESULTS
In the entire period, the prevalence of overweight doubled reaching 37.4% for men and 50.6% for women in the most recent survey. Although there was an important reduction in the prevalence of underweight, these percentages were still high in the poorest region for both sexes in 1997 (13%). The increase in BMI in the period from 1975 to 1989 was significant for all subgroups, except for the men living in the rural area of the richest region, but this group was the only one that presented a significant increase in the BMI in the 1989--1997 period.


CONCLUSIONS
Overweight has highly prevalent among the elderly. However there was no trend of increasing BMI in the last period, except for men living in the rural area of the richest region. Underweight is still an important nutritional problem in the poorest region.
Da Cunha
A S
AS
Department of Epidemiology of the State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. cunha@ims.uerj.br
Sichieri
R
R
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data