Objective: Assess longitudinal changes in height, body weight, triceps skinfold thickness and circumferences in elderly Europeans.
Design: Longitudinal study including baseline measurements taken in 1988/1989 which were repeated in 1993.
Setting: Baseline and follow-up data were collected in nine European research towns: Hamme/Belgium (H/F), Roskilde/Denmark (R/DK), Haguenau/France (H/F), Romans/France (R/F), Padua/Italy (P/I), Culemborg/the Netherlands (C/NL), Vila Franca de Xira/Portugal (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 stratified sample of elderly men and women born between 1913 and 1918 including a total of 1242 subjects in 1993.
Results: At most sites stature had decreased by 1-2cm. Median weight changed by -1.5 kg to -3.5 kg in only 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 triceps 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 significant proportion of the SENECA populations.