Studies on the Correlation of Anthropometric Measurements with Health Outcomes in Elderly

Obesity is the major health problem among the elderly in both developed and developing countries. In this group, obesity results into early onset of chronic morbidity and may initiate premature mortality. The risk relationship between the obesity and chronic diseases is well known fact in the elderly. So an effort was made to assess the nutritional status of 120 elderly residents of Baijnath and Panchrukhi blocks of District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh (India). It was observed that 44.17 per cent of subjects had Grade I and Grade II obesity and according to Waist to Hip ratio majority of females (98.63%) and males (57.45%) belonged to above normal category. Sixty five per cent of subjects were suffered from metabolic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, gout and arthritis. Health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, arthritis and gout were positively and significantly associated with anthropometric parameters viz. BMI, WHR, WHtR, Percent Body Fat (PBF) and Fat Mass (FM). There is an urgent need to emphasize the importance of regular physical activity to control the weight.