Determination of body composition using air displacement plethysmography, anthropometry and bio-electrical impedance in rural elderly Mexican men and women.
OBJECTIVE
Air displacement plethysmography with the BOD-POD is a new densitometry technique, and has been found to be an accurate method to measure body composition. The aim of this study was to assess body composition in a group of free living healthy subjects 60 years of age or older from a rural area of Northwest Mexico, and to evaluate body composition by anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance (BIA) using equations reported for other elderly populations.


METHODS
Body composition was evaluated in 21 women and 26 men with the BOD-POD, by anthropometry, and BIA and compared to different equations using the Bland- Altman procedure.


RESULTS
Body fat in elderly women and men was 42.7 and 30.2 % respectively. In women, Segal's equation using BIA 1, based on standing height, showed no significant differences with the BOD-POD. There was satisfactory agreement between Segal's equation and BOD-POD. In men similar results was found with Deurenberg's equation using B1A 2 based on recumbent length.


CONCLUSIONS
Segal's and Deurenberg's equations were accurate and precise for the estimation of body fat in the elderly of this study. The use of these equations could improve the estimation of body composition for similar elderly subjects. Further studies are recommended with a larger size samples to include elderly subjects from other Latin American countries.
Aleman-Mateo
H
H
Direccion de Nutricion, Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo, A.C. Hermosillo, Sonora 83000, Mexico.
Esparza Romero
J
J
Macias Morales
N
N
Salazar
G
G
Wyatt
J
J
Valencia
M E
ME
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D017097:Electric Impedance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D010993:Plethysmography, Whole Body / Q000379:methods*; D012424:Rural Population; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity