Prevalence and Factors Associated with Obesity among Community-Dwelling Persons 80 Years and Older: Longitudinal National Evidence from the Health, Aging, and Retirement in Thailand Study, 2015-2022

Pengpid, Supa; Peltzer ,  Karl; Hajek, André; Gyasi, Razak M.

Volume 12, Issue 1 (June 2026) Elderly Health Journal 2026, 12(1): 1-7 | Back to browse issues page

Mendeley

Zotero

RefWorks

Pengpid S, Peltzer K, Hajek A, Gyasi R M. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Obesity among Community-Dwelling Persons 80 Years and Older: Longitudinal National Evidence from the Health, Aging, and Retirement in Thailand Study, 2015-2022. Elderly Health Journal 2026; 12 (1) :1-7
URL: http://ehj.ssu.ac.ir/article-1-374-en.html

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Obesity among Community-Dwelling Persons 80 Years and Older: Longitudinal National Evidence from the Health, Aging, and Retirement in Thailand Study, 2015-2022

Supa Pengpid

, Karl Peltzer ^*

, André Hajek

, Razak M. Gyasi

Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, 40447, Taiwan , kfpeltzer@gmail.com

Abstract: (66 Views)

Introduction: Few studies have longitudinally assessed the prevalence and factors associated with obesity among persons 80 years and older. This study aimed to estimate these based on 4-wave national longitudinal data from Thailand.
Methods: Data from the Health, Aging, and Retirement in Thailand study from 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2022 were utilized. The sample was restricted to community-dwelling persons 80 years and older with complete self-reported body weight and height values (analytic sample: n=2986 observations). For the pooled sample, the average age was 85.3 years (range 80-107 years). Thai obesity was defined using Thai criteria (body mass index-BMI ≥25 kg/m2) and World Health Organization (WHO) criteria (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). Random effects (RE) logistic regressions were utilized to estimate the factors associated with Thai and WHO obesity.
Results: The average BMI was 21.6 (SD = 4.4), 23.0% were underweight, 17.4% had Thai obesity, and 3.6% had WHO obesity. RE regssions showed that age and male sex were negatively associated with Thai and WHO obesity. Being married or cohabiting and higher subjective economic status were associated with WHO obesity. Having no exercise was associated with WHO obesity. Living alone was negatively associated with Thai obesity, and having a greater number of chronic conditions was associated with both Thai and WHO obesity.
Conclusion: This longitudinal study enhances our understanding of the factors associated with obesity among people 80 years of age and older. Strategies to delay or decrease chronic conditions and increase physical activity may help reduce obesity.

Keywords: Aged, Obesity, Longitudinal Study, Thailand

Full-Text [PDF 307 kb] (19 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research | Subject: General
Received: 2025/12/7 | Accepted: 2026/05/9 | Published: 2026/06/20

References

1. Anantanasuwong D. Population ageing in Thailand:critical issues in the twenty first century. Education for the Ederly in the Asia Pacific. 2021; 59: 31-56.

2. Prasartkul P, Thaweesit S, Chuanwan S. Prospects and contexts of demographic transitions in Thailand. Journal of Population and Social Studies.2018; 27(1): 1–22.

3. National Statistical Office, Thailand. Statistical Yearbook Thailand 2024. Laksi Bangkok: National Statistical Office.

4. Kaufman ND, Chasombat S, Tanomsingh S,Rajataramya B, Potempa K. Public health in Thailand: emerging focus on non-communicable diseases. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management. 2011; 26(3): 197–212.

5. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet. 2024; 403(10431): 1027-1050.

6. Jura M, Kozak LP. Obesity and related consequences to ageing. Age (Dordr). 2016; 38(1): 23.

7. Putra IGNE, Daly M, Sutin A, Steptoe A, Scholes S, Robinson E. Obesity, psychological well-being related measures, and risk of seven non-communicable diseases: evidence from longitudinal studies of UK and US older adults. International Journal of Obesity (Lond). 2024; 48(9): 1283-91.

8. Cao X, Wang M, Zhou M, Mi Y, Fazekas-Pongor V, Major D, et al. Trends in prevalence, mortality, and risk factors of dementia among the oldest-old adults in the United States: the role of the obesity epidemic. Geoscience. 2024; 46(5): 4761-78.

9. Chua KY, Lin X, Lim WS, Koh WP. Gender and physical frailty modify the association between abdominal obesity and functional disability in older adults. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. 2022; 34(9): 2013-21.

10. Hajek A, Kretzler B, König HH. Prevalence and correlates of obesity among the oldest old. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression. Geriatrics Gerontology International. 2022; 22(5): 373-83.

11. Hajek A, Lehnert T, Ernst A, Lange C, Wiese B, Prokein J, et al. Prevalence and determinants of overweight and obesity in old age in Germany. BMC Geriatrics. 2015; 15: 1-13

12. Hajek A, Brettschneider C, van der Leeden C, Lühmann D, Oey A, Wiese B, Weyerer S, et al. Prevalence and factors associated with obesity among the oldest old. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2020; 89: 104069.

13. Lisko I, Tiainen K, Stenholm S, Luukkaala T, Hervonen A, Jylhä M. Body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio as predictors of mortality in nonagenarians: the Vitality 90+ Study. The Journal of Gerontology. 2011; 66(11): 1244-50.

14. Samper-Ternent R, Kuo YF, Ray LA, Ottenbacher KJ, Markides KS, Al Snih S. Prevalence of health conditions and predictors of mortality in oldest old Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 2012; 13(3): 254-9.

15. Brasher MS, George LK, Shi X, Yin Z, Zeng Y. Incorporating biomarkers into the study of socio-economic status and health among older adults in China. SSM Population Health. 2017; 3: 577-85.

16. 16. Anantanasuwong D, Theerawanviwat D, Siripanich P. Panel survey and study on health and aging, and retirement in Thailand. In: Gu D, Dupre M, editors. Encyclopedia of gerontology and population aging.Springer; 2019. p. 3700-06.

17. Wen CP, David Cheng TY, Tsai SP, Chan HT, Hsu HL, Hsu CC, et al. Are Asians at greater mortality risks for being overweight than Caucasians? Redefining obesity for Asians. Public Health Nutrition. 2009; 12(4): 497-506.

18. World Health Organization. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. [Internet]. 2000. Available from: https://iris.who.int/items/933e09aa-64f9-46e9-8dbb-78d8cddf1a3d

19. Pengpid S, Peltzer K, Anantanasuwong D, Kaewchankha W. Longitudinal associations between living alone, childlessness and mental health and mortality in ageing adults in Thailand. Global Transitions. 2024; 6: 145-51.

20. Pengpid S, Peltzer K, Hajek A, Gyasi RM. Determinants of limitations in activities of daily living among community-dwelling persons aged 80 years and older: Longitudinal national evidence from the Health, Aging and Retirement in Thailand study, 2015-2022. Geriatrics Gerontology International. 2025; 25(3): 403-10.

21. Pengpid S, Peltzer K, Hajek A, Gyasi RM. Number of pain points and multisite pain in people 80 years and older in Thailand. Pain Reports. 2025; 11(1): 1-7.

22. Cameron AC, Trivedi PK. Microeconometrics: Methods and Applications Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2005.

23. Zhang X, Sun Z, Zhang X, Zheng L, Liu S, Xu C, et al. Prevalence and associated factors of overweight and obesity in older rural Chinese. Internal Medicine Journal. 2008; 38(7): 580-6.

24. Fan H, Li X, Zheng L, Chen X, Lan Q, Wu H, et al. Abdominal obesity is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in elderly and very elderly community-dwelling Chinese. Scientific Reports. 2016; 6: 1-9.

25. Roderka MN, Puri S, Batsis JA. Addressing obesity to promote healthy aging. Clinical Geriatric Medicine. 2020; 36(4): 631-643.

26. Luo W, Xie Y. Socio-economic disparities in mortality among the elderly in China. Population Studies (Camb). 2014; 68(3): 305-20.

27. Luo Y, Zhang Z, Gu D. Education and mortality among older adults in China. Social Science & Medicine. 2015; 127: 134-42.

28. Wilson SE. Marriage, gender and obesity in later life. Economics and Human Biology. 2012; 10(4): 431-53.

29. Nikolic Turnic T, Jakovljevic V, Strizhkova Z, Polukhin N, Ryaboy D, Kartashova M, et al. The association between marital status and obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Diseases. 2024; 12(7): 1-20.

30. Bae Y, Pachucki MC. Social isolation and depression as risk factors for weight loss of 5kg or more among older Korean adults. PLoS One. 2024; 19(3): 1-23.

31. Madani Civi R, Mehranfar S, Plunkett R, Veenstra G, Conklin AI. A systematic review of social connections as determinants of obesity: Longitudinal evidence limited to marital transitions. Obesity Reviews. 2024; 25(11): 1-12.

32. Valencia WM, Stoutenberg M, Florez H. Weight loss and physical activity for disease prevention in obese older adults: an important role for lifestyle management. Current Diabetes Reports. 2014; 14(10): 539.

33. Valenzuela PL, Castillo-García A, Morales JS, Izquierdo M, Serra-Rexach JA, Santos-Lozano A, et al. Physical exercise in the oldest old. Comprehensive Physiology. 2019; 9(4): 1281-304.

34. Kang HT, Lee HR, Lee YJ, Linton JA, Shim JY. Relationship between employment status and obesity in a Korean elderly population, based on the 2007-2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2013; 57(1): 54-9

35. Lin H, Xiao N, Lin S, Liu M, Liu GG. Associations of hypertension, diabetes and heart disease risk with body mass index in older Chinese adults: a population-based cohort study. BMJ Open. 2024; 14(7): 1-6.

36. Dey DK, Rothenberg E, Sundh V, Bosaeus I, Steen B. Height and body weight in the elderly. I. A 25-year longitudinal study of a population aged 70 to 95 years. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1999; 53(12): 905-14.

37. Dahl AK, Hassing LB, Fransson EI, Pedersen NL. Agreement between self-reported and measured height, weight and body mass index in old age--a longitudinal study with 20 years of follow-up. Age and Ageing. 2010; 39(4): 445-51.

38. Sahyoun NR, Maynard LM, Zhang XL, Serdula MK. Factors associated with errors in self-reported height and weight in older adults. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. 2008; 12(2): 108-15.