Objective: This work examines the trend in obesity and abdominal obesity in the Spanish population aged 60 years and over during the first decade of the 21st century.
Methods: We analyze data from a representative study of the Spanish population aged 60 years and older conducted in 2000-2001 and from the Study on Nutrition and Cardiovascular Risk in Spain (ENRICA) conducted in 2008-2010.
Results: In men, the distribution of BMI did not vary in the period 2000-2010. In contrast, in women there was a reduction in both mean BMI--from 29.3 to 28.8 kg/m2--and the prevalence of obesity--from 40.8 to 36.3%. This decline was greatest in women aged 60-69 years. In men, no significant changes were observed in mean waist circumference (WC) or in the prevalence of abdominal obesity. In contrast, WC decreased by 3.6 cm and abdominal obesity prevalence by 12.7% in women. The decline was greatest in women aged 60-69 years, in whom mean WC decreased by 5.1 cm and abdominal obesity prevalence by 18.6%.
Conclusion: These findings show that the frequency of obesity has begun to decline in Spanish women aged 60 and over. The causes of this decline are unclear.