AbstractChanges in body composition are known to occur with old age, but there is limited knowledge of the normal values rates of change in anthropometric indices of body composition or the distribution of these changes in the elderly. In the present study, 98 elderly white men and 122 elderly white women were followed prospectively for 6 years. These participants were divided into 5‐years cohorts on the basis of age at the start of the study in 1980. Separate linear regressions of triceps skinfold thickness, midarm circumference, midarm muscle area, and weight divided by stature squared on age were computed for each participant. The mean annual changes or slopes for these indices were small for each sex. A loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue was indicated with age, but the effects of compression or measurement error may hamper the detection of changes in indices of body composition in the elderl
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