Prediction equations for estimating body weight in older adults

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundAssessing body weight in older adults may be challenging. Hence, the present study aimed to develop and cross‐validate updated and reproducible equations to estimate body weight in a large sample of older adults, namely among the older‐old.MethodsIn total, 1456 individuals aged ≥ 65 years, from the Nutrition UP 65 study, were included in the present analysis. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two sub‐samples: development (n = 991) and validation samples (n = 465). Prediction equations using height, mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC), waist circumference (WC), calf circumference (CC) and triceps skinfold thickness (TST) were generated for the development sample using multiple regression analysis and then validated using the validation sample.ResultsThe model with five predictor variables generated the following equations: females 65–79 years: −114.682 + 0.522 height (cm) + 0.620 MUAC (cm) + 0.517 WC (cm) + 0.893 CC (cm) + 0.111 TST (mm) (adjusted r2 = 0.883, standard error of the estimate (SEE) = 4.4); females ≥ 80 years: −110.806 + 0.494 height (cm) + 0.637 MUAC (cm) + 0.500 WC (cm) + 0.986 CC (cm) + 0.021 TST (mm) (adjusted r2 = 0.890, SEE = 3.9); males 65–79 years: −114.875 + 0.558 height (cm) + 0.073 MUAC (cm) + 0.671 WC (cm) + 0.717 CC (cm) + 0.182 TST(mm) (adjusted r2 = 0.820, SEE=5.0); and males ≥ 80 years: −128.789 + 0.546 height (cm) + 0.202 MUAC (cm) + 0.612 WC (cm) + 1.236 CC (cm) + 0.093 TST (mm) (adjusted r2 = 0.906, SEE = 3.5).ConclusionsBody weight can be estimated with good accuracy in older adults using these sex‐ and age‐specific equations generated from regression models using three to five anthropometric predictor variables.