[New height and weight standards for the middle aged and aged. Weight increases more than height]

This article presents new weight and height data collected during three large surveys of representative middle-aged and elderly men and women from Gothenburg in 1990-93. Based on these data, weight and height tables are provided as an aid in clinical evaluation. Additionally, weights and heights collected during previous examinations in the 1970s (Läkartidningen 1981; 78: 3152-4) make it possible to describe secular changes nearly two decades later. These comparative data suggest that height and weight have increased in both men and women. However, body weight has increased more than height, resulting in an increase in mean body mass index (RMI) in most groups, with the exception of 75-year old women.