Introduction:

The objective of this study was to compare the anthropometric markers of health body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and body fat percentage (BFP) among physically active (PA) and physically inactive (PI) older women.

Material and Methods:

Cross-sectional descriptive study with 88 women aged 60-75 years old. The evaluations were carried out in the biomechanics laboratory of the Universidad Santo Tomás (Chile), and included measurements of body weight, bipedal stature, WC and cutaneous folds. BMI (kg/m2) and percentage of BFP were calculated from the skin folds.

Results:

PA older women presented significantly lower values than PI in the anthropometric health markers evaluated: percentage of BFP (p=0.01), BMI (p=0.04) and WC (p=0.03). However, both groups obtained WC and BFP values above healthy recommendations. A BMI of 29.7kg/m2 and 26.8kg/m2 was obtained for PI and PA, respectively. According to these values, PI were classified as overweight, while PA were classified as normal. When comparing skinfolds, it was observed than PA had values significantly lower than PI in triceps (p=0.033), subscapular (p=0.005) and suprailiac (p=0.001) folds.

Conclusions:

Older women with PA show favorable BMI, WC, and BFP with respect to PI, which could indicate that regular physical activity would be a beneficial element in the health of older adults.

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