The aim of the present study was to analyze the anthropometric changes in a home-based cohort of Brazilian older adults who participated in the SABE Survey, conducted in 2000 and 2006. A total of 1030 men and women were examined by age group: 60–69, 70–79, and ≥80 years. This representative sample consists of the survivors of the 2000 cohort. The following anthropometric variables were assessed: body mass, arm muscle, waist and calf circumferences, triceps skinfold thickness, body mass index, waist-hip ratio, and arm muscle area according to mean values and percentile distribution. Except for body mass and body mass index, a significant difference was observed among the assessed anthropometric variables during the follow-up period. The older adults ≥80 years presented the lowest values. The reduction in the mean values of triceps skinfold thickness was greater (30%) than that of waist circumference (9%) and was more pronounced in women (21%) than in men (9%). Arm muscle circumference and area reduced by 8% and 19%, respectively, in men and 1% and 3%, correspondingly, in women. Our findings revealed reductions in the mean values for all anthropometric variables in the follow-up period from 2000 to 2006 among older adults. 1. Introduction The population aging and its socioeconomic and biopsychosocial implications are a widely discussed topic globally, including in Brazil, because this group is more vulnerable to the development of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. These diseases, associated with changes of the aging process, can compromise individual health and affect nutritional status [1]. For these reasons, this issue arouses the interest of researchers, as additional knowledge about the aging process and its impact on the Brazilian health system is required [2]. The aging process is associated with significant changes in body composition, including quantitative and qualitative progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and body fat redistribution, with greater accumulation in the intra-abdominal region compared to the subcutaneous abdominal area, independent of disease development [3, 4]. The redistribution of adipose tissue mass and the relative decline of skeletal muscle mass can occur even when there are no significant changes in body mass index (BMI) [5]. Several longitudinal studies suggest that fat mass increases with age in older men, but not in older women, and that lean mass decreases with age in both genders; however, there is still controversy in the scientific
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