An inverse relationship between obesity & suicide has been observed in younger adults but this has not examined in the elderly. A cross-national ecological study examined the independent relationship between the prevalence of obesity & elderly suicide rates, by controlling for potentially confounding variables, using data from the World Health Organization & the United Nations. Elderly suicide rates in females were independently associated with the prevalence of obesity. Caution should be exercised in attributing a causal relationship from this cross-sectional ecological study due to ecological fallacy & requires confirmation in individual case-control or cohort studies. (10 refs.) JA