Obesity in Nursing Homes: An Escalating Problem

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To estimate trends in the prevalence of obesity in nursing homes, to characterize the obese nursing home population, and to evaluate the extent to which estimates of the prevalence of obesity varied by facility and geographic location.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: One thousand six hundred twenty-five nursing homes in Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, New York, and South Dakota from 1992 to 2002; 16,110 nursing homes in the United States in 2002.

Participants: Newly admitted residents between 1992 and 2002 (n=847,601) in selected states and 1,448,046 residents newly admitted to a U.S. nursing home in 2002 with height and weight documented on the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment.

Measurements: Data were from the Systematic Assessment of Geriatric Drug Use via Epidemiology database. Residents were classified as having a body mass index of less than 18.5 kg/m², 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m², 25.0 to 29.9 kg/m², 30 to 34.9 kg/m², or 35.0 kg/m² or greater.

Results: Adjusting for sociodemographics, in Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, New York, and South Dakota, fewer than 15% of newly admitted residents were obese in 1992, rising to more than 25% in 2002. In U.S. nursing homes, the distribution of obese residents is not shared equally across facilities. Nearly 30% of residents with a BMI of 35 kg/m² or greater are younger than 65, and a disproportionate percentage of obese residents are non-Hispanic black. Residents identified as obese had a higher likelihood of comorbid conditions (e.g., diabetes mellitus, arthritis, hypertension, depression, and allergies).

Conclusion: Increasing prevalence of obesity in nursing homes and substantial variation of obesity prevalence within facilities raise concerns about nursing home preparedness and access.