Relationship between anthropometric variables and nutrient intake in apparently healthy male elderly individuals: A study from Pakistan

Abstract

BackgroundThe elderly population is increasing worldwide, which warrants their nutritional status assessment more important. The present study was undertaken to establish the nutritional status of the least-studied elderly population in Pakistan.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 526 generally healthy free-living elderly men (mean age: 68.9 yr; range: 50-98 yr) from Peshawar, Pakistan. Anthropometric measurements (weight, height, WC) were measured and BMI and WHR were calculated from these measurements following WHO standard procedures. Dietary intake was assessed by 24-hr dietary recall. Nutrients were calculated from the information on food intake. Nutrients in terms of % of RNI were calculated using WHO data on recommended intakes.ResultsBased on BMI, the numbers of obese, overweight and underweight elderly were 13.1, 3.1 and 10.8%, respectively. Age was negatively and significantly correlated with BMI (p = 0.0028). Energy (p = 0.0564) and protein intake (p = 0.0776) tended to decrease with age. There was a significant increase in % BF with age (p = <0.0001). The normal weight elderly had significantly (p < 0.05) higher intake of all nutrients studied, except energy which was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in obese and overweight elderly. Overall, however, the majority of subjects had lower than adequate nutrient intake (67.3 - 100% of recommendation).ConclusionsMalnutrition is common in apparently healthy elderly Pakistani men. Very few elderly have adequate nutrient intake. Obese and overweight had higher % BF as compared to normal weight elderly. Older age is associated with changes not only in anthropometrics and body composition but also in intake of key nutrients like energy and protein.

Aging affects the proportions of T and B cells in a group of elderly men in a developing country—a pilot study from Pakistan

“…In analogy to older Western (Swedish) populations, these values would put many Pakistani elderly in the IRP group which is found in a minority of people over 65 in Sweden, and which is known to become predictive of incipient mortality from 85 years of age . The definition of "aged" in Pakistan is considerably lower than 65 year (Alam et al 2011), and in parallel with this, possibly the IRP also occurs at an earlier age. Whether this is indeed predictive of mortality in this Pakistani population remains to be established in longitudinal follow-up studies.…”

“…Potential subjects expressing interest in blood donation were first screened by obtaining a verbal medical history to rule out any health conditions or medication use that could affect immune responses. For the current study, we used a subsample from our previous study conducted in Peshawar, Pakistan (Alam et al 2011). We selected a convenience sample of 50 families and from each family we selected one young and one elderly subject fulfilling the inclusion criteria.…”

“…Detailed procedures for collection of data on anthropometric measurements and body composition are reported elsewhere (Alam et al 2011). Briefly, age was assessed from the official records of the subjects (the National Identity Card).…”

“…In addition to the conversion of naïve to memory cells, there is also a gradual loss of functional capacity, cellular integrity, and diversity of both the CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell repertoire with aging . The effects of these changes on T cell properties may be further increased if the elderly person is also suffering from a state of malnutrition (Alam et al 2011).…”

Distribution and correlates of Body Mass Index in the elderly residents of the Colombo District

“…Shukla et al (9) in their study on urban Indian adults found that 24-36% and 24-48% of males and females aged 65years and above were underweight. In a recent study it has been reported that 11% of healthy elderly Pakistani men are underweight (18).With respect to the prevalence of overweight and obesity, strict comparisons across Asian studies are not possible due the differences in BMI cut-offs that have been used to define these two entities. According to the BMI cutoffs used in this study, 13 and 12% of the males were overweight and obese respectively while the figures for the females were 18 and 23% respectively.…”