(P24-009-24) Changes in Body Composition Through Adulthood in Rural Guatemalans, With Emphasis on Sexual Dimorphism

Objectives: Worldwide, Guatemalan women are on average the shortest; men have the 4th lowest height. Failure of leg elongation manifests in early life; compression of the thorax is the mechanism in adulthood. This study aimed to assess differences in anthropometric indicators across the life course between men and women to understand factors contributing to stature deficits.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study were 511 non-pregnant, free-living, Guatemalan adults (361 females, 150 males) aged ≥ 39 y from two Q’echi-Maya linguistic townships in the Western Highlands: Santa Maria Chiquimula (SM) and Nahuala (NH). Measures of weight, height, waist-circumference, and armspan were taken and indices derived for body mass index (BMI), waist/height ratio (WHR), arm span-height difference (AHD) and stunted/non-stunted %.

Results: Mean weight for adults 35-59 y was 54.8 kg (+/-9.5) for SM women (n=50); 59.6 kg (+/-11.1) for SM men (n=50); and 54.9 kg (+/-11.1) for NH women (n=81). Mean weight for those ≥ 60 y was 48.0 kg (+/-9.9) for SM women (n=50); 54.0 kg (+/-7.3) for SM men (n=50); 45.1 kg (+/-7.8) for NH women (n=75); and 52.5 kg (+/-10.2) for NH men (n=50). Mean BMI for adults 35-59 y was 26.0 kg/m2 (+/-4.0) for SM women; 25.0 kg/m2 (+/-3.8) for SM men; and 27.1 kg/m2 (+/-4.5) for NH women. For those ≥ 60 y, mean BMI was 23.9 kg/m2 (+/-5.5) for SM women; 22.9 kg/m2 (+/-2.7) for SM men; 23.8 kg/m2 (+/-3.6) for NH women; and 23.1 kg/m2 (+/-3.7) for NH men. Mean WHR for 35-59 y was 0.57 (+/-0.06) for SM women; 0.55 (+/-0.06) for SM men; and 0.58 (+/-0.07) for NH women. For those ≥ 60 y, mean WHR was 0.57 (+/-0.07) for SM women; 0.55 (+/-0.05) for SM men; 0.57 (+/-0.07) for NH women; and 0.56 cm (+/-0.06) for NH men. Stunting prevalence for adults 35-59 y was 54% for SM women; 24% for SM men; and 79.0% for NH women. For adults ≥ 60 y, 80% of SM women, 34% of SM men, 89.3% of NH women, and 52% of NH men were stunted.

Conclusions: In both townships, women were shorter, lighter, had lower WHRs, wider AHDs, and were more stunted than men, displaying heterogeneity throughout the aging process. BMI averages and obesity frequency did not differ between sexes in SM. Further assessment of anthropometric indices and how they differ between sexes may inform public health and nutrition interventions to address adult stunting for rural Guatemalans.

Funding Sources: The Hildegard Grunow Foundation, Munich & Iglesia de Santa María Chiquimula