Trends of underweight, overweight, and obesity among older adults in China from 2008 to 2018: a national observational survey

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the 10-year trends and disparities in underweight, overweight, and obesity among older adults aged 65 years and older in China from 2008 to 2018. METHODS: We used four waves (2008, 2011, 2014, and 2018) of data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), a national community-based cross-sectional survey conducted every 2–3 years. Body weight and height were measured by trained assessors following standardized procedures. BMI was calculated and divided into underweight (< 18.5 kg/m(2)), normal (18.5–24.9 kg/m(2)), overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m(2)), obese (≥ 30.0 kg/m(2)) according to WHO reference. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine factors related with abnormal BMI groups, after adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: Among 46,543 older adults in China, the prevalence rates of underweight decreased with each survey year from 2008 to 2018, declining from 20.05 to 7.87% (p < 0.001). In contrast, the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity showed an increasing trend (all p < 0.001). Specifically, the prevalence of overweight rose from 12.82% to 2008 to 28.45% in 2018, and the prevalence of obesity increased from 1.62% to 2008 to 4.95% in 2018. In the multinomial logistic regression model, survey year, gender, residence, marital status, economic status, numbers of chronic diseases, smoking status, sleep quality, and functional disability were factors related with obesity. CONCLUSION: The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were increasing while the prevalence of underweight and normal weight significantly decreased from 2008 to 2018 among older adults in China, which poses a huge challenge for chronic disease. There is an urgent need for intervention policy planning and early prevention of abnormal body weight for the preparation of an aging society. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-16310-6.