title: Gender differences in anthropometric predictors of physical performance in older adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Both high body fat and low muscle mass have been associated with physical disability in older adults. However, men and women differ markedly in body composition; men generally have more absolute and relative lean muscle mass and less fat mass than women. It is not known how these anthropometric differences differentially affect physical ability in men and women.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study examines differences in anthropometric predictors of physical performance in older women and men.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 470 older women and men 72.9 (7.9) years of age. Body composition was measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Maximum leg strength and power were measured using a leg press. Muscle quality (MQ) was calculated as relative strength (leg press strength per kilogram of leg muscle mass). Gait speed and chair rise were used to assess mobility performance and functional strength.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Body mass index (BMI), age, and MQ emerged as predictors (P < 0.05) of functional strength and mobility in men and women somewhat differently. After accounting for age and sample, leg MQ was related to chair rise time and gait speed in men but not women. BMI was related to gait speed in both men and women, but BMI was related to chair rise time only in women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results implicate the prioritized importance of healthy weight and muscle maintenance in older women and men for maintained physical functioning with aging.
authors.affiliation: Center on Aging, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA. Maren.Fragala@ucf.edu
authors.forename: Maren S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Fragala
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kleppinger
authors.forename: James O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Judge
authors.forename: George A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kuchel
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kenny
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000886:Anthropometry; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D053580:Muscle Strength; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012737:Sex Factors