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Healthy Aging - Obesity
Indicator 7: Obesity
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by his or her height in meters squared (kg/m2).
Older adults can benefit from maintaining a healthy body weight. Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic conditions, including four of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States — coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and several forms of cancer. Obesity also can worsen conditions such as arthritis, and it is associated with activity limitations and feelings of sadness and hopelessness.(1)
A confidence interval (CI) describes the level of
uncertainty of an estimate and specifies the range in which the true value is
likely to fall. The State of Aging and Health in America online report
uses a 95% level of significance, which means that 95% of the time, the true
value falls within these boundaries.
†
Rankings are based on the relative numeric scores for
each indicator, with a ranking of "1" indicating the highest rank.
‡
Grades are calculated as tertiles (thirds) and show state performance relative
to all other states.
§
2003 data are used for Hawaii because no 2004 data exist.
Note:When comparing
prevalence of variables across states or years, we recommend the use of
confidence intervals. If the confidence intervals overlap, the difference is
not statistically significant.
Reference:
1. Center on an Aging Society. Obesity among older Americans (Data Profile). Washington, DC: Georgetown University; 2003. Available at http://ihcrp.georgetown.edu/agingsociety/pubhtml/obesity2/obesity2.html (accessed April 24, 2006).
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