Body composition assessment and nutritional status evaluation in men and women Portuguese centenarians

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition, health & aging health & aging, 2016-03, Vol.20 (3), p.256-266
• Main Authors: Pereira da Silva, Alda, Matos, A, Valente, A, Gil, Â, Alonso, I, Ribeiro, R, Bicho, M, Gorjão-Clara, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adiposity; Age; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Anthropometry; Basal Metabolism; bioelectrical impedance; Body Composition; Body fat; Body Height; Body Mass Index; body water; Body Weight; Centenarians; Cross-Sectional Studies; Environmental health; equations; Female; Gender differences; Geriatrics/Gerontology; hips; Humans; lean body mass; Life expectancy; longevity; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; men; Metabolism; Neurosciences; nutrient content; Nutrition; Nutrition Assessment; Nutritional Status; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Older people; Oldest old people; Oncology; Osteoporosis; Osteoporosis - epidemiology; Overweight; Overweight - epidemiology; Portugal - epidemiology; Prevalence; Primary Care Medicine; Quality of Life Research; resting metabolic rate; Thinness - epidemiology; underweight; visceral fat; waist; Waist Circumference; Waist-Hip Ratio; Women; World Health Organization
• ISSN: 1279-7707; 1760-4788
• DOI: 10.1007/s12603-015-0566-0

OBJECTIVES: To assess body composition, nutritional status and its differences between genders in a sample of Portuguese centenarians. DESIGN: Observational cross-sectional study. SETTING: Centenarians recruited in Portugal, able to give informed consent. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 252 subjects, with a median age of 100 years, mostly women (77.8%) who accepted to participate in the study, during the period of 2012 to 2014. MEASUREMENTS: Anthropometric data collected (weight, height, BMI, waist circumference, hip and waist/hip ratio) were evaluated according to WHO criteria. A portable tetrapolar bioimpedance analyzer was used to calculate body composition and to assess resting metabolism. Nutritional status was evaluated according to three different criteria: BMI, waist circumference and body fat percentage using anthropometric equations and bioimpedance. RESULTS: We observed an overall mean weight of 51.02±11.03Kg, height of 1.55±0.07m and a BMI of 21.07±3.69Kg/m². For most of the evaluated parameters, we found substantial differences between genders. The prevalence of underweight and overweight were 25.3% and 13.3%, respectively. Only 5 subjects were obese. Overweight subjects were mostly men (W=10.6% vs. M=22.6%), whereas women were more underweight (W=28.7% vs. M=13.2%). When considering the waist circumference, 26.5% were above the cut-off value. Most of centenarians (72.9%) had a healthy level of visceral fat. This measurement was highly correlated with waist circumference (r= 0.687, p