Differentials in Health and Wellbeing in Older Adults with Obesity in England: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Abstract

The aim of the study is to explore the association of obesity by body mass index (BMI) measurements with subjective health status (SHS), objective health status (OHS) and wellbeing status among older adults in England. The sample of 5640 participants (aged 50 years and over) are considered from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing Wave 8 dataset. Multivariate logistic regression analysis is performed to explore the cross-sectional relationship of the study variables. The statistical analyses explored those overweight and obese older adults are progressively vulnerable to increasing odds of poor SHS, OHS and poor wellbeing in an adjusted model compared to their normal-weight counterparts. The outcome of the present study would enable policymakers and healthcare providers to have greater insight into the effects of socio-demographic and lifestyle factors and the effect of high BMI on older adults’ health and wellbeing.