Vol. 9, No 2, 2011 pp. 173 - 182
UDC 796.021.1-053.9:577.115
Review article

BASIC ANTHROPOMETRIC AND BODY COMPOSITION CHARACTERISTICS IN AN ELDERLY POPULATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Zoran Milanović1, Saša Pantelić1, Nebojša Trajković1, Goran Sporiš2
1Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia
2Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract.The aim of this study was to determine the basic anthropometric characteristics and body composition of elderly individuals between 60 and 80 years of age on the basis of collected data and analyzed papers published between the years of 1990 and 2011. The literature search was conducted using the following databases: MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Kobson and DOAJ. The selection was based on criteria related to the age group the participants belong to (60-80 years), rather than to body composition and anthropometric parameters, while participants with a chronic disease were not included. The study included 28 studies which met all the criteria for selection. The body composition of the elderly aged between 60 and 80 years could be influenced by genetic potential, early growth and development, differences in socio-economic status, health status, as well as by geographic region and ethnic group affiliation. Aging is associated with a higher percentage of body fat and body fat redistribution. Redistribution of fat, predominantly from lower-body to subcutaneous fat in the abdominal and visceral section is quite frequent among the elderly despite an apparent decrease in the BMI. This phenomenon mainly occurs due to changes in total adiposity and changes in body weight.
Key words: aging, body mass index, weist to hip ratio, fat mass, elderly

KOMPOZICIJA TELA I ANTROPOMETRIJSKE KARAKTERISTIKE STARIH OSOBA. PREGLED ISTRAŽIVANJA
Cilj ovog preglednog rada bio je da utvdi osnovne antropometrijske karakteristike i kompoziciju tela osoba izmedju 60 i 80 godina starosti na osnovu prikupljenih i analiziranih radova objavljenih u periodu od 1990-2011. Medline/PubMed, Kobson, DOAJ and Google scholare su korisceni za pretragu literature i identifikaciju radova. Radovi su odabrani na osnovu kriterijuma vezanih za starosnu dob kojoj ispitanici pripadaju (60-80 godina) zatim da se studije odnose na sastav tela i antropometrijske parametre i da se ne radi o ispitanicima sa hronicnim oboljenjem nakon ogranicenja u pretrazi identifikovano je 28 radova koji su razmatrani. Na antropometrijski sastav tela kod starih osoba izmedju 60 i 80 godina moze da utice genetski potencijal, rani rast i razvoj, razlike u socio-ekonomskom statusu, zdravstveno stanje kao i geografsko podrucije i pripadnost etnickoj grupi. Starenje je takodje povezano sa povecanjem udela masnog tkiva i preraspodele telesne masti. Preraspodela masti pretezno iz donjeg dela tela u potkozno masno tkivo na trbuhu i u visceralnom delu je najčesce zastupljena kod starih osoba uprkos prividnom smanjenju BMI. Najcesce do ove pojave dolazi zbog promene u ukupnom adipozitetu i promene u telesnoj tezini.
Ključne reči: proces starenja, body mass index, mišićna masa, stare osobe, masno tkivo