Association of happiness with overweight and obesity among older adults in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the relationships of happiness status with overweight and obesity risks in Taiwanese older adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of the 2015-2016 Taiwan National Physical Fitness Survey SETTING: Community PARTICIPANTS: This study includes 20,295 older adults from Taiwan, who were aged 65 years or older MEASUREMENTS: Body mass index was categorized into normal weight, overweight, and obesity. Happiness was assessed using a 10-point scale and classified as happy (scores 8-10) or unhappy (scores 0-7). RESULTS: Although no significant linear association was observed between happiness status and BMI in either men or women, logistic regression analysis indicated that overweight individuals had significantly higher odds of being happy compared with their normal-weight counterparts (adjusted OR = 1.337, p = 0.0002 for men; OR = 1.168, p = 0.018 for women). Obesity, however, was not significantly associated with happiness in either gender. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight status was positively linked to happiness among older Taiwanese men, but obesity did not show the same effect.