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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #111952
Title: 10 YEAR BODY COMPOSITION CHANGES IN THE ELDERLY

Author
item HUGHES, VIRGINIA - HNRCA-TUFTS
item FRONTERA, WALTER - HARVARD MED SCH
item EVANS, WILLIAM - UNIV ARKANSAS
item ROUBENOFF, RONENN - HNRCA-TUFTS
item FIATARONE-SINGH, MARIA - HNRCA-TUFTS

Submitted to: Journal of Gerontology Biological Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: Hughes, V.A., Frontera, W.R., Evans, W.J., Roubenoff, R., Fiatarone-Singh, M.A. 2000. 10 year body composition changes in the elderly. Journal of Gerontology Biological Science.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Estimates of the magnitude of age-associated loss of fat-free mass (FFM) and gain in fat mass (FM) are mostly derived from cross sectional studies. We assessed the longitudinal changes (9.5 y) in body composition in an elderly cohort of (M)en and (W)omen (n=137, initial age 61+/-1y) and compared composition changes (by hydrodensitometry) in weight gainers (WG= >2kg) and weight losers (WL= >2kg). Men had an overall 1.1+/- 0.5 kg increase in FM and a 1.0+/-0.3 kg decrease in FFM. Women had a 1.3+/-0.5 kg increase in body weight that was accounted for by an increase in FM with no change in FFM. In WL, the loss of FFM (% body wt) was 63+/-13% in M and 35+/-11% in W. FFM accounted for a smaller proportion of the weight change in WG (8+/-10% in M, 21+/-8% in W). These data quantify the FM gains over a decade in elderly men and women, and also indicate that the FFM changes are dependent on sex and associated weight change.