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Am J Epidemiol 2002; 156:110-121.
Copyright © 2002 by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health


ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Associations of Body Composition with Physical Performance and Self-reported Functional Limitation in Elderly Men and Women

Barbara Sternfeld1, Long Ngo2, William A. Satariano2 and Ira B. Tager2

1 Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, CA.
2 Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.

To understand how body composition relates to functional impairment, the authors examined cross-sectional associations of absolute and relative measures of fat and lean mass with physical performance and self-reported functional limitation. The sample consisted of a community-based cohort of 1,655 older women and men from Sonoma, California, who had complete baseline data in 1993–1994 on body composition, physical performance, and functional limitation. Physical performance was assessed by walking speed and grip strength, while global functional limitation, across several domains, was assessed by self-report using standard questions. Lean mass and fat mass were estimated from bioelectric impedance using population-specific prediction equations derived from dual x-ray energy absorptiometry. Higher fat mass was associated with slower walking speed and greater likelihood of functional limitation, while higher lean mass was generally associated only with increased grip strength. A higher lean mass-to-fat mass ratio, a relative measure of body composition, was associated with faster walking speed and less limitation. These findings suggest that fat mass negatively impacts some domains of physical performance and overall functioning, while lean mass is less significant in absolute terms but is important relative to amount of body fat. Am J Epidemiol 2002;156:110–21.

aged; body composition; obesity; thinness

Abbreviations: Abbreviations: BIA, bioelectric impedance; DEXA, dual energy x-ray absorptiometry; MET, metabolic equivalent; resid, residual variable.


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