Relation of smoking, physical activity and living residence to body fat and fat distribution in elderly men in Greece

It is well-documented that body fat and body fat distribution are related to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, hyperinsulinaemia, and diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of smoking status, physical activity and place of living on body fat and fat distribution of Greek elderly men. The participants were 144 elderly men of mean age 71.789 +/- 6.39 years, who were free-living individuals, in Thessaloniki (104 subjects) and in the suburbs (40 subjects). According to our results, 23.9% of men who participated in the study were smokers. No association was found between skinfolds, skinfold ratio and physical activity or smoking. It is worth to mention that a triple percentage of younger elders (60-75 years) smoked, compared to the older ones. This finding could possible explain the absence in anthropometric differences between elderly smokers and non-smokers. Intervention programs aiming to yield information about changing the various modifiable risk factors in the elderly are needed.