This article’s objective is to examine the epidemiology of obesity in the urban elderly population of Barbados. A random sample of adults ≥ 60 years underwent comprehensive interviews and measurement of their weight, height, and waist circumference (WC). Outcomes of interest were obesity (body mass index [BMI] > 30 kg/m2), high-risk WC (men ≥ 102 cm; women ≥ 88 cm), and high risk of disease comorbidity (from BMI and WC criteria). Total, 1,508 persons participated (80% response). Women had higher rates of obesity (31% vs. 11.9%), high-risk WC (61.9% vs. 13.9%), and disease co-morbidity risk (51.1% vs. 17.5%) compared to men. Multivariate regression confirmed female gender as an independent predictor of outcomes (p < 0.001). Other predictors were less consistent: self-reported fair/poor health status and eating two (vs. three) meals daily were associated with obesity, whereas semiprofessional occupation and unmarried status predicted high-risk WC. Obesity is highly prevalent among elderly Barbadians. Public health interventions must target this group, particularly women.
Barbados Census. (2000). Health, welfare and aging in Bridgetown, Barbados: SABE 2000. Scientific and Technical Publication No. 611 (2005), p. 6.
2.
Brown, C. D., Higgins, M., Donato, K. A., Rohde, F. C., Garrison, R., Obarzanek, E., et al. (2000). Body mass index and the prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidemia. Obesity Research, 8, 605-619.
3.
Brown, P. J., & Konner, M. (1987). An anthropological perspective on obesity. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 499, 29-46.
4.
Drewnoski, A., & Popkin, B. M. (1997). The nutrition transition: New trends in the global diet. Nutrition Reviews, 55, 31-43.
5.
Elia, M. (2001). Obesity in the elderly. Obesity Research, 9(Suppl. 4), 244S-248S.
6.
Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Ogden, C. L., & Johnson, C. L. (2002). Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288, 1723-1727.
7.
Folsom, A. R., Kaye, S. A., Sellers, T. A., Hong, C. P., Cerhan, J. R., Potter, J. D., et al. (1993). Body fat distribution and 5-year risk of death in older women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 269, 483-487.
8.
Forrester, T., Cooper, R. S., Weatherall, D. (1998). Emergence of western diseases in the tropical world: The experience with chronic cardiovascular diseases. British Medical Bulletin, 54, 463-473.
9.
Foster, C., Rotimi, C., Fraser, H., Sundarum, C., Liao, Y., Gibson, E., et al. (1993). Hypertension, diabetes, and obesity in Barbados: Findings from a recent population-based survey. Ethnicity & Disease, 3, 404-412.
10.
Hennis, A., Wu, S. Y., Nemesure, B., & Leske, M. C. (2002a). Hypertension prevalence, control and survivorship in an Afro-Caribbean population. Journal of Hypertension, 20, 2363-2369.
11.
Hennis, A., Wu, S-Y., Nemesure, B., & Leske, M. C. (2002b). Diabetes in a Caribbean population: Epidemiological profile and implications. Diabetes Care, 31, 234-239.
12.
James, P. T., Leach, R., Kalamara, E., & Shayeghi, M. (2001). The worldwide obesity epidemic. Obesity Research, 9(Suppl. 4), 228S-233S.
13.
Lean, M. E., Han, T. S., & Morrison, C. E. (1995). Waist circumference as a measure for indicating need for weight management. British Medical Journal, 311, 158-161.
14.
Little, R. J. A.,& Rubin, D. B. (1987). Statistical analysis with missing data. New York: Wiley.
15.
Manson, J. E., Willett, W. C., Stampfer, M. J., Colditz, G. A., Hunter, D. J., Hankinson, S. E., et al. (1995). Body weight and mortality among women. New England Journal of Medicine, 333, 677-685.
16.
Monteiro, C. A., Moura, E. C., Conde, W. L., & Popkin, B. M. (2004). Socioeconomic status and obesity in adult populations of developing countries: A review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 82, 940-946.
17.
Must, A., Spadano, J., Coakley, E. H., Field, A. E., Colditz, G., & Dietz, W. H. (1999). The disease burden associated with overweight and obesity. JAMA, 282, 1523-1529.
18.
National Institutes of Health. (1998). Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: The evidence report (Rep. No. 98-4083). Bethesda, MD: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
19.
Okosun, I. S., Rotimi, C. N., Forrester, T. E., Fraser, H., Osotimehin, B., Muna, W. F., et al. (2000). Predictive value of abdominal obesity cut-off points for hypertension in Blacks from west African and Caribbean island nations. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 24, 180-186.
20.
Palloni, A. (1999). SABE project. Protocol of the multicenter study: Health, well-being and aging in Latin America and the Caribbean. Division of Health and Human Development. Washington, DC: Pan American Health Organization.
21.
Palloni, A., Pinto-Aguirre, G., & Pelaez, M. (2002). Demographic and health conditions of ageing in Latin America and the Caribbean. International Journal of Epidemiology, 31, 762-771.
22.
Pan American Health Organization. (1972). The national food and nutrition survey of Barbados (Rep. No. 237). Washington, DC: Author.
23.
Pan American Health Organization and Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute. (1986). The national health and nutrition survey of Barbados, 1981 (Rep. No. 237). Bridgetown, Barbados: National Nutrition Centre, Ministry of Health of Barbados in Collaboration with PAHO and CFNI.
24.
Piccoli, A., Pillon, L., & Dumler, F. (2002). Impedance vector distribution by sex, race, body mass index, and age in the United States: Standard reference intervals as bivariate Z scores. Nutrition, 18, 153-167.
25.
Ramsey, F. C. (1979). Protein-energy malnutrition in Barbados: The role of continuity of care in management. New York: Josiah Macy Jr.
26.
Rossner, S. (2001). Obesity in the elderly—a future matter of concern?Obesity Reviews, 2, 183-188.
27.
Rotimi, C. N., Cooper, R. S., Ataman, S. L., Osotimehin, B., Kadiri, S., Muna, W., et al. (1995). Distribution of anthropometric variables and the prevalence of obesity in populations of West African origin: The International Collaborative Study on Hypertension in Blacks (ICSHIB). Obesity Research, 3(Suppl. 2), 95s-105s.
28.
Sargeant, L. A., Bennett, F. I., Forrester, T. E., Cooper, R. S., & Wilks, R. J. (2002). Predicting incident diabetes in Jamaica: The role of anthropometry. Obesity Research, 10, 792-798.
29.
Seidell, J. C., & Flegal, K. M. (1997). Assessing obesity: Classification and epidemiology. British Medical Bulletin, 53, 238-252.
30.
Sobal, J., & Stunkard, A. J. (1989). Socioeconomic status and obesity: a review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 260-275.
31.
StataCorp. (2003). Stata Statistical Software: Release 8.0. College Station, TX: Author.
32.
Stevens, J., Cai, J., Pamuk, E. R., Williamson, E. F., Thun, M. J., Wood, J. L. (1998). The effect of age on the association between body-mass index and mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 338, 1-7.
33.
Strawbridge, W. J., Wallhagen, M. I., & Cohen, R. D. (2002). Successful aging and well-being: Self-rated compared with Rowe and Kahn. Gerontologist, 42, 727-733.
34.
Uauy, R., Albala, C., & Kain, J. (2001). Obesity trends in Latin America: Transiting from under- to overweight. Journal of Nutrition, 131, 893S-899S.
35.
Wilks, R., Bennett, F., Forrester, T., & McFarlane-Anderson, N. (1998). Chronic diseases: The new epidemic. West Indian Medical Journal, 47(Suppl 4), 40-44.
36.
World Health Organization. (1998). Obesity: Preventing and managing the global epidemic (WHO Technical Report Series No. 894). Geneva: Author.
37.
World Health Organization. (2003). The World Health Report 2003: Shaping the future. Geneva: Author.
