INDICATORS OF OBESITY IN VARIOUS AGE GROUPS OF THE FEMALE POPULATION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Abstract

In this paper the authors deal with the obesity of the Czech female population. As a basic criterion for the evaluation of obesity, several standard parameters used worldwide were selected. These include the body mass index (BMI), %body fat, and the “fitness score”. For the inclusion among the female obese population, these following threshold parameters were chosen: BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, fitness score (FS) ≤ 70 points, body fat (%) ≥ 30. The research sample consisted of 319 women divided into 6 age groups. The results show that in the studied women (p <0.05) BMI increases with increasing age. For example, the percentage of women who fall into the category of overweight or obese according to BMI is 16.7% in the age group 18 – 29 years, 25.8% in the group 30 – 39 years, 32.7% in the group 40 – 49 years, 45.5% in the group 50-59 years, 66.0% in the group 60-69 years, and 85.7% in the group 70+ years. The percentage of fat increases with increasing age as well. The fitness score starts to drop since the age of 50 years and slightly rises in the age groups 30 – 39 and 40 - 49.