Weight, height and body mass index distributions in geographically and ethnically diverse samples of older persons. Ad Hoc Committee on the Statistics of Anthropometry and Aging

Age Ageing. 1996 Jul;25(4):300-6. doi: 10.1093/ageing/25.4.300.

Abstract

We compared anthropometric data (height, weight and body mass index) from 19 geographically and ethnically varied samples of community-dwelling elderly people. Participants were stratified into three age groups, 60-69, 70-79 and 80 years or older. We present age-group-specific means and standard deviations for height, weight and body mass index (BMI, weight/height2) and the prevalence of underweight (BMI < 20) and overweight (BMI > or = 30). Across studies there are large differences in the prevalence of overweight and underweight, but in all studies mean height and BMI decreased with age. In general, mean BMI among 70-79-year-old women is greater than that for men of a similar age, and the Mediterranean samples are heavier for height than samples from Western Europe, Asia, Africa and the United States. The comparisons suggest that the sensitivity and specificity of a fixed cut-off for underweight and overweight are likely to differ by sex, age, and geographic location in samples of older persons.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged / statistics & numerical data*
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Anthropometry
  • Body Height*
  • Body Mass Index*
  • Body Weight*
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison
  • Ethnicity / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Reference Values