Making use of J. Tanner’s scale of sexual dimorphism for assessment of the physical state of older women

Abstract

An assessment of the physical status of older women was performed based on anthropometry and bioelecytrical impedance analysis. The somatotype was determined with the use of J. Tanner’s index of sexual dimorphism (1951). In the surveyed sample, 46.15% women had a gynecomorphic body type manifested in the structural feminization of the skeletal system; masculinization of the skeletal system (andromorphism) was found in 4.74% of cases; and mild dysplasia towards the opposite sex was observed in 49.11% of older women, which corresponded to the mesomorphic somatotype. It was found that women with a gynecomorphic body type were significantly shorter than those with mesomorphic or andromorphic types; they had lower mass and transverse dimensions of the body. The largest absolute content of the fat mass and lean mass components were found in women with andromorphic body type, while the representatives of the sample with a gynecomorphic body type demonstrated the lowest values of these indicators of body composition. The results of anthropometric and bioimpedance measurements with allowance for the body type of elderly women involving J. Tanner’s index of sexual dimorphism reflect their adaptive capabilities and can serve as markers (predictors) of nonspecific somatic diseases.