Health & social care
Obesity increased most among older people
Percentage of people who are obese by age, England 1995, 2001 and 2007
The percentage of people aged 45-64 and 65-74 who were obese increased by 10 per cent to about 30 per cent between 1995 and 2007 in England. A smaller percentage of people aged 75 and over were obese in 1995 (15 per cent) but by 2007 this had also increased by 10 per cent to 25 per cent. In the period 1995-2007, the increase in the percentage of people with obesity in the age groups 45-64, 65-74 and 75 and over was twice the percentage increase (5 per cent) seen among the younger age group 16-44.
About two thirds of both women and men aged 75 and over in Great Britain in 2007 reported having a longstanding illness or disability. These percentages have remained constant over the period 1995-2007.
The percentage of people aged 75 and over who had consulted with an NHS GP in the 14 days prior to being interviewed decreased from 23 per cent in 1995 to 19 per cent in 2007. However, in the years between 2001 and 2007, the percentage of people aged 75 and over who had used the telephone as a means to consult with an NHS GP in the 14 days prior to being interviewed increased by 6 per cent to 14 per cent.
Percentage of people that provided unpaid care in the week prior to being interviewed by sex and age, England, 2006
In England in 2006, about 16 per cent of women and 8 per cent of men aged 50-64 had looked after someone in the week previous to being interviewed. The percentage of women who had cared for someone in the week prior to being interviewed declined with age; the percentage of men who had provided care in the previous week remained the same in all age groups.
About a third of both women and men aged 50 and over who had provided unpaid care for someone in the previous week had cared for 35 hours or more. The percentage of women and men who had cared for someone for 35 hours or more in the previous week increased across age groups.
Sources: Health Survey for England, Department of Health, 2007 General Household Survey, Office for National Statistics, 1995-2007 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, Wave 3, 2005-06
Notes: Obesity: refers to a person whose Body Mass Index (BMI) has a value of 30 or above. BMI is defined as weight in kg divided by the square of height in metres.
Longstanding illness or disability: based on people’s subjective assessment of their health.
‘Carer’ refers to people who described themselves as ‘looking after someone’ in the past week. This includes looking after a spouse or partner, parents, parents in law, children, grandchildren, friends or neighbours. Respondents are routed to this question if they answered in a previous question that they had cared for someone in the previous month. For the analysis people with no caring commitments refer to those who had not cared for someone in the last month.
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