Background: Handgrip strength is used to identify sarcopenia and frailty phenotypes, being a potential predictor of mortality in older adults. However, uniformity is lacking in the reference values. This study aimed to describe handgrip strength values of older population aged ≥65 years in Portugal, considering the possible influence of anthropometric parameters. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Portugal, among 1500 older adults aged ≥65 years old, according to "The Nutrition UP 65 Study Protocol". Demographic data were collected and cognitive performance, subjective general health, physical activity, anthropometric parameters and nutritional status were assessed and analysed. Handgrip strength data was obtained with a Jamar dynamometer. A Pubmed/Medline search was carried out to compare handgrip strength data between Portuguese older adults and other older populations. Results: Handgrip strength was higher among men than among women (30.3 ± 9.2 Kgf vs 18 ± 5.4 Kgf, p < 0.001, respectively). In general, handgrip strength values of Portuguese older adults were lower than other older populations. In our sample, age, cognitive and nutritional status, self-reported sitting time and practice of physical activity were significantly correlated with handgrip strength in both sexes. Concerning anthropometric parameters, height was the most significantly correlated with handgrip strength (r = 0.34, p < 0.001, in women and r = 0.40, p < 0.001, in men).

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The association between nutritional status and gait speed remains unclear. This study described gait speed in older adults and quantified the association between overweight, obesity, undernutrition risk and gait speed. Gait speed as potential indicator of nutritional outcomes was also explored. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in a population-based sample of 1,500 older adults ≥65 years old. Compared to “normal body mass index” women, odds ratio for a slow gait speed was approximately 2-fold higher in“overweight”, 4-fold higher in “obese” and 6-fold higher in women at “undernutrition risk”. “Undernutrition risk” category resulted from joining “undernutrition risk/undernutrition”. For men, these associations were in the same direction, but the odds ratio estimates halved. In women, identified gait speed cut-offs were 0.87 m/s for “obesity” and 0.79 m/s for “undernutrition risk”. In men, 0.94 m/s is the cut-off in which most older adults were correctly classified relative to “undernutrition risk”. About half of Portuguese older adults presented a gait speed ≤0.8 m/s. Overweight, obesity and undernutrition risk were directly and increasingly associated with slow gait speed, but approximately twice as high in women compared to men. Gait speed revealed potential utility in marking nutritional problems, but further investigation is recommended.