A Comparison of Elderly (20~65 Yrs) Life Style with Body Mass Index (BMI) 25

Objective: compare the habits and features of obese (BMI＞25) and normal (BMI＜25) individuals and express a method to ameliorate the life styles using a cross-sectional experiment. Methods: A total of 220 randomly selected cases were divided into case group (n=110) and control group (n=100) according to the calculated BMI level. Samples with BMI＞25 kg/m^2 were assigned to the case (obsess) group and those with BMI ranging from 20 to 25 were assigned to control (normal) group. The Miller-Smith life style questionnaires consisting 20 questions each with 5 different answers were given to both groups. Data of the questionnaires were collected and analyzed using t-test and Chi-square with SPSS. Results: No significant differences were found among the two groups in terms of the mean age, gender, level of education, marital status, insurance, breakfast, lunch or dinner, fried meat, legumes, caffeinated beverages, the length of sleep during 24 h, cigarette smoking and losing job or spouse. However, in regards to use of vegetables, sausage, fried potatoes, enriched breads, low fat milk, low salt, candies and chocolates significant relations were found (P＜0.05). Conclusion: The present study suggests one way to control obesity and prevent diseases is to ameliorate the life styles. There is a relation between health and stress and irregularity of meals, such as breakfast skipping, is associated with overweight and obesity in adolescence.