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Lifestyle factors associated with age-related differences in body composition: the Florey Adelaide Male Aging Study^1,2,3

¹ From the Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia (SAM, MTH, AWT, and GAW); the Spencer Gulf Rural Health School & Centre for Rural Health and Community Development, University of South Australia, Whyalla, Australia (MTH); and the Exercise, Health and Performance Faculty Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia (EA)

Background: Age-related change in body composition is associated with adverse health outcomes, including functional decline, disability, morbidity, and early mortality. Prevention of age-related changes requires a greater understanding of the associations among age, lifestyle factors, and body composition.

Objective: We aimed to comprehensively determine lifestyle factors associated with age-related differences in body composition assessed by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Design: We analyzed baseline (cross-sectional) data collected from 2002 to 2005 for 1200 men in the Florey Adelaide Male Aging Study, a regionally representative cohort of Australian men aged 35–81 y.

Results: Mean values for whole-body lean mass (LM) and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) decreased, whereas mean values for abdominal fat mass (FM) and whole-body and abdominal percentage FM (%FM) increased with age. No significant age-related differences were found for whole-body FM. Multiple adjusted odds of being in the highest tertiles for whole-body and abdominal %FM decreased for smokers (63–71%) but increased with age group and for lowest energy (43–50%), carbohydrate (92–107%), and fiber (107%) intake tertiles. Multiple adjusted odds of being in the highest aBMD tertile decreased for lowest body mass (92%) and carbohydrate intake (63%) tertiles and for men aged 75 y (78%) but increased for Australian birth (58%) and for participation in vigorous physical activities (82%).

Conclusions: Age-related differences in body composition indicate that whole-body FM remains stable but increases viscerally and that whole-body %FM is confounded by LM, whereas aBMD decreases with age. Age-related differences in %FM and aBMD are associated with demographic and lifestyle factors.