Nutritional status: anthropometry. Euronut SENECA investigators

Abstract

In 19 towns and cities across Europe anthropometric data--body weight, height, skinfold thicknesses and circumferences--have been obtained from 2332 elderly subjects born between 1913 and 1918, according to a strictly standardized methodology. Large variations exist among research towns even within countries. For body weight, means ranged from 70.1 +/- 15.4 kg to 78.2 +/- 10.7 kg in men and from 56.8 +/- 8.1 to 71.4 +/- 11.4 kg in women. In the North European towns and cities both men and women were taller than their counterparts in the southern towns. Mean body mass index varied from 24.4 +/- 3.8 kg m-2 to 30.3 +/- 5.2 kg m-2 among men. In women the range of means was from 23.9 +/- 3.6 kg m-2 to 30.5 +/- 5.1 kg m-2. Triceps skinfold thicknesses suggest that females had more fat at subcutaneous sites than the males, and the waist-hip ratio was consistently lower in elderly women.