Sex differences in measures of body fat and body fat distribution in the elderly

This study describes sex differences in obesity and body fat distribution using commonly used assessment methods in 140 men and 245 women age 65-96 years from Rancho Bernardo, California. Significant correlations were shown among all obesity measures. The waist/hip ratio was more strongly correlated with the truncal fat/leg fat ratio in women than in men. The waist/hip ratio correlated significantly with the subscapular/ triceps skinfold ration in women only. In both sexes, waist circumference was more strongly correlated with body mass index and the percentage of body fat by bioelectric impedance analysis and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry than with the waist/hip ratio. In those aged over 80 years, age stratification showed that the waist/hip ration was not correlated with any other measurement of obesity or fat distribution in men and correlated only with subscapular skinfolds in women. Waist circumference, however, correlated significantly with almost all other measures of central obesity in older and younger men and women. Estimates of upper body (central) fat distribution appear to be age specific. After age 80, the waist/hip ratio is a poor method of assessing central or visceral adiposity, and waist circumference is a better measure of body fat distribution.