Quarter of elderly are obese
The number of obese elderly people is rising so fast the agedcare sector is struggling to keep up, a new study has found.
The research, released today by Victoria University of Wellington, found 24 per cent of adults over the age of 75 are currently identified as obese, with 1 per cent identified as extremely obese.
The Ministry of Health needed to ‘‘urgently’’ review the national and regional capacity of age-care facilities to care for older adults with extreme obesity and develop comprehensive standards and infrastructure specifications for bariatric care, the study states.
Dr Caz Hall, who conducted the research along with Dr Helen Rook, said the idea elderly people were frail and skinny was outdated.
The heaviest age group in New Zealand was the 65-74 category.
‘‘More residents are living with being overweight, with obesity, or extreme obesity than are underweight in aged-care facilities,’’ she said. However, little work had been done on how agedcare facilities could support them.
While rest homes were willing
‘‘More residents are living with being overweight, with obesity, or extreme obesity than are underweight in agedcare facilities.’’
Dr Caz Hall
to care for obese patients, many did not have the facilities to acceptably look after them – this included rooms, doors, hallways and beds being too small, along with a lack of equipment such as hoists.
Some families spoken to for the study had to buy equipment so their loved one could be properly cared for. ‘‘There is a high degree of compassion and a willingness to provide care but changes need to be made in order to avoid increased financial burden on the sector and on residents and their families, an underresourced workforce, and stigmatisation of people living with obesity.’’
There are about 550 people in aged-care facilities who fall
within the extreme obesity category – a number which is expected to balloon to nearly 1000 by 2024.
The report used the body mass index to determine what was obesity – in general, people who have a BMI over 40 are defined as extremely obese. Extreme obesity is loosely defined as someone weighing over 150 kilograms.
The study analysed data from all patients in aged-care facilities 2015-2018, and also looked at three residential care facilities within a North Island district health board.
Chief executive for NZ Aged Care Association Simon Wallace said the study was ‘‘important and very timely’’.
The sector was wanting to care for larger patients but more funding was required.
The study did not exclusively look at what was causing more elderly people to become obese but the findings were in line with the trend of the overall population getting heavier – with Ma¯ ori and Pasifika most at risk.
The research was to be presented today as part of the New Zealand Aged Care Association conference.