https://imcjms.com Ibrahim Medical College Journal of Medical Science https://imcjms.com/registration/journal_full_text/192 Thu, 20 Apr 2017 09:58:33 +0000 This cross-sectional study was carried out from January to June 2006 to find out the anthropometric profile of the urban seniors living in three selected areas (Nakhal Para, Badda and Mirpur) of Dhaka city. A total of 317 individuals of both sexes aged 60 years and above were recruited by convenient sampling. Data were collected by a pre-tested questionnaire and a check list. Mean body mass index, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio were 17.8 ± 4.0, 75.5 ± 12.5 cm and 0.87 ± 0.12, respectively. Although only 3% elderly were obese, substantial proportion of the sample were overweight. Females were more prone to health risks than male. Measures should be taken to create awareness amongst these populations for controlling their health risk. Key words: Anthropometry, elderly, Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC), Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR).   Introduction In the developing countries aging issues have only recently begun to emerge as a cause of concern. Bangladesh is one of the twenty developing countries with the largest number of senior citizens. About 7.2 million (around 6%) of the total population of Bangladesh constitutes the elderly population. This figure was 1.37, 1.86, 4.90 and 6.05 millions in the year 1911, 1951, 1981 and 1991, respectively.3 By 2025 along with other Asian countries, Bangladesh will account for almost half of the world’s total senior citizens. This change is predicted to have seriousconsequences.4 Most of the elderly in Bangladesh suffer from some basic human problems like such as poor financial support, exclusion, negligence, deprivation, insecurity, senile diseases and absence of proper health and medical care. They become frustrated and suffer from illness without care and company.3 This study aimed to assess the anthropometric profile of the senior citizens of an urban community with a view to help in formulating appropriate intervention measures to address the health need of the aged.Materials and Methods BMI was calculated with formula weight in Kg / height in meter square. The following cut-off points were used in this study:             Under nutrition                          < 18.5                          Overweight                                25.00 – 29.99               Normal range                             Male <94, Female <80             Substantial Health Risk               Male >102, Female >88             Health Risk                                WHR             Health Risk                                Male ³ 1.01, Female ³ 0.86 Results     On average, females were having significantly lower height, weight, WC whereas no significant difference was noticed in hip circumference and body mass index between the sexes. Anthropometric values by gender are shown in Table 2 and Table 3. Only about 3% of the elderly samples were obese. One-fifth of the males and one-fourth of the females were underweight whereas overweight and obese were about 14% and 17%, respectively. But the observed differences were not statistically significant. Higher proportion of females (10.6% and 35.6%, respectively) were with health risk WC (p<0.01) and WHR (<0.001) compared to males (0.8% and 7.0%, respectively). Table 2: Anthropometric indicators of the senior citizens by sex (n = 317)     Discussion In most studies, mentioned below, BMI was found higher in females than males. Other indices found having different findings in different studies. In a study on Filipino adults including approximately 8,500 subjects (20-65 years old), BMI, WC and WHR were found higher for the males than females.10 In population-based, cross-sectional studies in Chile and Cuba on the elderly, BMI values were significantly higher in women than in men.11,12 In another study in Brazil among the elderly, a total of 1,894 older adults (men and women > 60 years) were examined from January to March 2001. Body mass index (BMI), waist (WC) and hip (HC) circumferences were measured. BMI was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in women than men (all age groups).13 In a cross sectional study on 60-year-old-and older Mexican men and women in Mexico City, the values in the male group were higher than in the female group for WC; women showed higher values in BMI, and hip circumference (p < 0.01).14 In a Mexican national survey, BMI values indicated that 62.3% of the population and 73.6% of the women were overweight.15 In a cross-sectional study on randomly selected 3,356 elderly Italian population, BMI was significantly higher in women than in men (27.6 ± 5.7 v. 26.4 ± 3.7; P<0.001). Prevalence of malnutrition was lower than 5% in both genders, whereas obesity was shown to have a higher prevalence in women than in men (28% v. 16%; P<0.001).16 In another cross-sectional study of 874 free-living, apparently healthy Irish-born elderly individuals aged over 65 years, one-third had a BMI between 20-25 kg/m2, approximately two-thirds (68.5% of males and 61% of females) were classified as overweight or obese, almost one-fifth having a BMI over 30 kg/m2 (17% of men and 20% of women). Very few were underweight, only 3% having a BMI below 20 kg/m2.17 An institution based study on 305 elderly people, of both sexes, living in six geriatric institutions were assessed. Mean values of the weight, height, body mass index in men were higher than those in women. Of the mean difference of the variables, body mass index was not statistically significant (p>0.05).18 In this study, majority of elderly were found well nourished and had no health risk by anthropometric measurements. Females were at a higher health risk compared to males. As the study was conducted only in some selected areas of Dhaka city with a small sample size, the study findings may not represent the actual national situation. Further large scale in-depth studies with appropriate design are recommended to get a detailed national picture. Acknowledgements   1.   Living Arrangements of Older Persons: Critical Issues and Policy Responses. United Nations, New York; 2001. 3.   Mc Williams LA, Cox BJ, Enns MW. Mood and anxiety disorder associated with chronic pain: an examination in nationally representative sample. Pain 2003; 42: 462-464. 5.   Ming-J et al. Relation between weight and body fats distribution and ambulatory blood pressure in Chinese elderly. Clin Exp Hypertension 1994; 16: 545-63. 7.   Flavio DF, Miguel G, Leila BM et al. Anthropometric indices and the incidence of hypertension: A comparative analysis. Obesity Research 2005; 13: 1515-1517. 9.   Haque MA, Moni MA, Rahman MA, Ahmed K, Islam MS, Billah SMB. Hypertension among the senior citizens of selected areas in Dhaka city. JOPSOM 2006; 25: 44-52. 11.Santos JL, Albala C, Lera L, García C, Arroyo P, Pérez-Bravo F et el. Anthropometric measurements in the elderly population of Santiago, Chile. Nutrition 2004; 20: 452-7. 13.Barbosa AR, Souza JM, Lebrão ML, Laurenti R, Marucci Mde F. Anthropometry of elderly residents in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. : Cad Saude Publica 2005; 21: 1929-38. 15.Sánchez-García S, García-Peña C, Duque-López MX, Juárez-Cedillo T, Cortés-Núñez AR, Reyes-Beaman S. Anthropometric measures and nutritional status in a healthy elderly population. BMC Public Health 2007; 7: 2. 17.Corish CA, Kennedy NP. Anthropometric measurements from a cross-sectional survey of Irish free-living elderly subjects with smoothed centile curves. Br J Nutr 2003; 89: 137-45. 2026 Ibrahim Medical College. All rights reserved.