This study aimed to evaluate the anthropometric variables of elderly people living in long term nursing institutions in Fortaleza city, state of Ceará, Brazil. Elderly people (60 years or more), of both sexes, living in six long term nursing institutions in Fortaleza city were interviewed. The anthropometric variables analyzed were: body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold thickness (TST) and arm muscle circumference (AMC). For analysis of BMI, TST and AMC were used the values proposed by Kuczmarski et al. (2000), presented in percentiles. The study sample was composed of 305 elderly people (69.2% of them women). The mean age was 75.9 years (SD=9.5 years). As regards BMI, 66% of the men presented low weight. Women presented higher proportion of overweight (12.3%) than men (7.4%). With respect to age group, 58.4% of the elderly with 60-69 years presented low weight. The values of TST showed that 31.5% of the women were with decreased subcutaneous adipose tissue depots. The elderly aged 80 years or more presented a higher proportion of increased subcutaneous adipose tissue depots (35.6%) than the other age groups. As for AMC, the proportion of the malnourished elderly was high for both sexes (91.7% of men and 77.2% of women). In all age groups, the elderly presented high proportion of malnutrition. The elderly living in long term nursing institutions in Fortaleza city were at nutritional risk, what implies the need for interventions.
Aged; Homes for the Aged; Anthropometry; Fortaleza city