Time trend of overweight and obesity prevalence among older people in Brazilian State Capitals and the Federal District from 2006 to 2019

Although the share of older people has been growing in Brazil in past decades, studies investigating trends in overweight and obesity prevalence in this population remain scarce. The objective of this study was to analyze the time trend of overweight and obesity prevalence in older adults in Brazilian State Capitals and the Federal District from 2006 to 2019. This is a time trend study based on data from the Surveillance System for Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey. The subsample used was composed of individuals aged 60 years or older (n = 202,049). Self-reported weight and height data were used to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). Overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) prevalence were estimated per year for the total population and according to sex, age, schooling, region, and NCD presence. Prais–Winsten regression models were used to identify significant trends in overweight and obesity prevalence over the years. Overweight prevalence increased (p < 0.05) from 53.7 to 61.4% (1.09% per year) within the assessed period, whereas obesity prevalence increased from 16.1 to 22.3% (2.28% per year). Greater increases were observed among men, those aged 70 years old and over, with more than 9-year of schooling, and from less developed regions. The highest increases were observed in groups with the lowest values at the beginning of the study period. Results evidenced the high and growing prevalence of overweight and obesity among older people in Brazilian.