Aging is associated with predictable alterations in body fat that are thought to have an important impact on health. From early adult life through middle age there is a substantial increase in body fat [1, 21, while after 65-70 years of age body fat typically decreases, even in healthy individuals [1, 2]. Unexplained weight loss becomes relatively common after the age of 65 [3, 4] and 30-50% of institutionalized elderly are reported to suffer from protein-energy malnutrition [3,4]. This loss of body fat in later years is associated with several adverse factors including micronutrient deficiencies, frailty, increased hospital admission, an increased risk of disability from falls, delayed recovery from injury and premature death [5-8].
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