Every second senior is overweight
More than half of older people are overweight. This is a worrying proportion, because it increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, which are the most common cause of death in Switzerland. This is shown by the new monitoring system for addiction and non-communicable diseases of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), or MonAM. The system can be used to examine the influence of sociodemographic factors on more than 100 indicators such as obesity, smoking, cancer or high blood pressure.
At Overweight age plays a decisive role, and it turns out that older people are affected much more frequently than the rest of the population: 53% of those aged 65 and over have an excessively high body mass index. In younger age groups, this proportion is much lower: 42% of 35- to 49-year-olds and 27% of 15- to 34-year-olds are overweight.
There are also significant differences between the sexes. Among the older people men are more affected, with almost 62% of them being overweight. The proportion is lower among women aged 65 and over, but remains at a high level of 46%.
These figures are alarming because obesity not only increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, but also of several types of cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Several factors are involved in the development of obesity. Throughout life, a balanced diet and sufficient exercise play a central role in maintaining a healthy body weight. It's never too late to get active: Walking, cycling or even dancing, for example, are suitable forms of exercise even for older people.
Monitoring addiction and non-communicable diseases
The portal MonAM - the abbreviation stands for Monitorage des Addictions et des Maladies non transmissibles-, bundles for the first time the data of the topics non-communicable diseases and addiction.
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