Cpgm. Degroot et al., LONGITUDINAL CHANGES IN ANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ELDERLY EUROPEANS, European journal of clinical nutrition, 50, 1996, pp. 9-15
Objective: Assess longitudinal changes in height, body weight, triceps
skinfold thickness and circumferences in elderly Europeans. Design: L
ongitudinal study including baseline measurements taken in 1988/1989 w
hich were repeated in 1993. Setting: Baseline and follow-up data were
collected in nine European research towns: Hamme/ Belgium (H/F), Roski
lde/Denmark (R/DK), Haguenau/France (H/F), Romans/France (R/F), Padua/
Italy (P/I), Culemborg/the Netherlands (C/NL), Vila Franca de Xira/Por
tugal (V/P), Betanzos/Spain (B/E), Yverdon/Switzerland (Y/CH). Single
1993 measurements were carried out in 4 towns: Coimbra/Portugal (C/P),
Marki/Poland (M/PL), Ballymoney-Limavady-Portstewart/Northern Ireland
/UK (BLP/NI/UK), Mansfield/Connecticut/USA (M/CT/USA). Subjects: Using
standardized methodologies data were collected from a random stratifi
ed sample of elderly men and women born between 1913 and 1918 includin
g a total of 1242 subjects in 1993. Results: At most sites stature had
decreased by 1-2 cm. Median weight changed by -1.5 kg to -3.5 kg in o
nly three towns. An increase of at least 5 kg of body weight had taken
place in 9% of men and 6% of women whereas 16% of both men and women
had lost at least 5 kg of their baseline weight. Serial changes in tri
ceps skinfold thickness, arm circumference and waist-to-hip ratio were
small. Conclusions: Height declined with age. Median changes in other
anthropometric characteristics of interest were small. These changes
resulted from both considerable gains and losses of body weight in a s
ignificant proportion of the SENECA populations.