Height and body weight in the elderly. I. A 25-year longitudinal study of a population aged 70 to 95 years

OBJECTIVE: To describe longitudinal changes in height and body weight between the ages of 70 and 95 y.

DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study with representative sample of 70-y-olds.

SETTING: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Göteborg University, Sweden.

SUBJECTS: 449 males and 524 females, aged 70 y, living in Göteborg were examined in 1971-72 and this study population participated on 11 occasions during a 25-year follow-up.

RESULTS: Mean height decreased 4 and 4.9 cm in males and females respectively and the trend was significant between the ages of 70 and 95 y in both sexes. Between 70 and 75 y of age, a significant difference was found between quintiles of body height where in the highest quintile height was lowered by 0.4 and 0. 3 cm/y, in males and females respectively, and in the lowest quintile by 0.1 cm/y in both sexes. Mean body weight decreased 3.2 and 5.1 kg in males and females respectively, from age 70 to 95 y. The trend was significant over 22 and 20 y for males and females, respectively. Between the ages of 70 and 80 y, individuals in highest quintile of body weight decreased at a rate of 0.8 and 0.6 kg/y, three times higher than those in lowest quintile. Due to the decrease in both height and weight over time, body mass index (BMI) was less affected.

CONCLUSION: Height, body weight and BMI decreased significantly in both sexes after age 70 y, and there was a gender difference in the trend. The results can be used as reference data for Swedish elderly and might be of importance to the understanding of anthropometry with the ageing process.