Differences in Anthropometric Measures Based on Sex, Age, and Health Status: Findings From the German National Cohort (NAKO).
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional analysis within a population-based cohort
PubMed 38377337 · doi:10.3238/arztebl.m2024.0016
What was done
Researchers analyzed cross-sectional data from 204,751 participants (mean age 49.9 ± 12.8 years; 50.5% women) in the German National Cohort (NAKO). They evaluated body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, ultrasound-measured subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and body fat percentage across categories of sex, age, and self-reported physician diagnoses of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), metabolic diseases (MetD), cardiometabolic diseases (CMD), and cancer.
What was found
Anthropometric measures generally increased with age. Men exhibited higher BMI, larger waist circumference, and greater VAT than women, whereas women had larger hip circumferences, greater SAT, and higher body fat percentages. Among individuals aged over 60 years, mean BMI was 28.3 kg/m² in men and 27.6 kg/m² in women. CVD, MetD, and CMD were associated with higher anthropometric metrics, whereas cancer was not. Mean BMI was 25.3 kg/m² in healthy women, 29.4 kg/m² in women with CMD, and 25.4 kg/m² in women with cancer.
Why it matters
This study provides large-scale, population-level benchmark data on body fat distribution and obesity across age groups, sexes, and common chronic disease states in Germany.
Limits
The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference regarding whether adiposity preceded disease onset. Clinical diagnoses relied on self-reported physician assessments. Quantitative data for SAT, VAT, circumferences, and body fat percentage were omitted in the abstract, and findings reflect a single national cohort.
Cited by
- context 70% of women and 50% of men over the age of 50 have a high amount of visceral fat.