Anthropometric measures comparison of elderly residents in urban area in southern Brazil by sex and age group

OBJECTIVE: To compare body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold (TSF), arm circumference (PB), arm muscle circumference (MCA) and arm muscle area (AMA) in the elderly, according to sex and age group. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of elderly residents in urban Sarandi-PR, selected from the census and household sectors. Data were collected from October 2010 to March 2011, assessing weights, height, PB and TSF and after, calculating BMI, MCA and AMA. The values obtained are presented as mean, standard deviation and percentiles, with comparison between genders and age groups. In the analysis we used the chi-square test, t-student, ANOVA and Tukey. Differences between mean values were considered significant when p