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Changes in Diet, Physical Activity, and Anthropometric Parameters During Aging: What to Focus On?

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Geriatric Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2026 | Viewed by 3057

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Renata Moraes Bielemann

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Post-Graduate Program in Food and Nutrition, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas 96010-610, RS, Brazil
Interests: aging; gerontology; physical activity; old adults; lifestyle; nutrition; sarcopenia
Prof. Dr. Eleonora D'Orsi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Post-Graduate Program in Colective Health, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil
Interests: aging; gerontology; old adults; aging; lifestyle; chronic diseases

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aging is a natural process driven by unmodifiable (i.e., genetics) and modifiable (i.e., diet, physical activity, smoking) factors. In this context, eating, physical activity and nutritional characteristics play an important role in the prevention of age-related diseases and disabling conditions. Eating is an important habit related to several demographic, social, economic, psychological and health conditions, whereas physical activity is also highly impacted by environmental aspects and public policies. Nutritional status, body composition, fat distribution, and anthropometric measurements, in general, are strongly influenced by both diet and physical activity. Older adults have their food and physical activity habits influenced by conditions inherent to aging such as dysphagia, xerostomia, edentulism, use of multiple medicines, multimorbidity, physical disability for basic or instrumental activities of daily living and several others, which in turn are related to nutritional and body composition modifications during the aging process. Thus, this Special Issue of Nutrients is dedicated to focusing on how these different parameters impact health during aging and on the understanding of the influence of different conditions on their age-related changes.

Prof. Dr. Renata Moraes Bielemann
Prof. Dr. Eleonora D'Orsi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • physical activity
  • diet
  • nutrition
  • body composition
  • older adults
  • aging
  • anthropometric parameters
  • sarcopenia
  • malnutrition

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 871 KB  
Article
Impact of a 12-Week Multicomponent Training Program with Multiprofessional Support on Body Composition, Metabolic Markers, and Arterial Stiffness in Brazilian Older Women Stratified by Nutritional Status: A Secondary Analysis
by Jordan Hernandez-Martínez, Pablo Valdés-Badilla, Izham Cid-Calfucura, Edgar Vásquez-Carrasco, Lucimere Bohn, Jorge Mota, Cristian Sandoval-Vásquez, Marilene Ghiraldi de Souza Marques and Braulio Henrique Magnani Branco
Nutrients 2026, 18(8), 1227; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18081227 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 540
Abstract
Background/Objectives: this study evaluated the effects of a 12-week multicomponent training (MCT) program combined with multiprofessional interventions (nutritional and psychoeducational) on body composition, lipid profiles, fasting glucose levels, and arterial stiffness in Brazilian older women stratified by nutritional status. Methods: thirty-six older women, [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: this study evaluated the effects of a 12-week multicomponent training (MCT) program combined with multiprofessional interventions (nutritional and psychoeducational) on body composition, lipid profiles, fasting glucose levels, and arterial stiffness in Brazilian older women stratified by nutritional status. Methods: thirty-six older women, who were classified as normal weight (n = 8; mean age: 69.2 ± 7.2 years), overweight (n = 13; mean age: 72.1 ± 5.3 years), or obese (n = 15; mean age: 70.3 ± 4.6 years), were included in the study. The outcomes included body fat percentage (BFP), visceral fat level, fat-free mass (FFM), fasting glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and arterial stiffness, as determined by pulse wave velocity (PWV). Results: BFP was reduced in all groups (p < 0.001), but in the overweight and obese groups, these decreases were greater. Visceral fat level decreased significantly in all groups (p < 0.001), with greater decreases in the obese group compared with the normal weight and overweight groups (p < 0.001), and greater reductions in the normal weight group compared to the overweight group (p < 0.05). A significant reduction in PWV was observed only in the overweight group (p < 0.05), while greater improvements were observed in the overweight group compared to the normal weight group (p < 0.05) in FFM, lipid profiles, and fasting glucose. Conclusions: an MCT combined with multiprofessional intervention effectively reduced BFP and arterial stiffness in Brazilian older women with excess adiposity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes in Diet, Physical Activity, and Anthropometric Parameters During Aging: What to Focus On?)
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14 pages, 643 KB  
Article
Trajectory of Body Mass Index and Frailty Among Older People in Southern Brazil: A Longitudinal Study
by Cecília F. Fernandes, Karla P. Machado, Andréa D. Bertoldi, Elaine Tomasi, Flávio Fernando Demarco, Maria Cristina Gonzalez and Renata M. Bielemann
Nutrients 2026, 18(2), 218; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18020218 - 9 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1018
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome associated with adverse outcomes such as disability, hospitalization, and mortality. This study aimed to assess the association between body mass index (BMI) trajectories over ten years and frailty among community-dwelling older adults in Brazil. Methods [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome associated with adverse outcomes such as disability, hospitalization, and mortality. This study aimed to assess the association between body mass index (BMI) trajectories over ten years and frailty among community-dwelling older adults in Brazil. Methods: This population-based longitudinal study used data from the COMO VAI? cohort, conducted with individuals aged ≥60 years in Pelotas, southern Brazil. Frailty was defined in 2024 using Fried’s phenotype, which evaluates weight loss, exhaustion, low physical activity, slowness, and weakness. BMI categories were defined as underweight (BMI < 22.0 kg/m2), eutrophy (22.0–27.0 kg/m2) and overweight (>27.0 kg/m2). BMI trajectories were identified using group-based trajectory modeling for 789 participants with data from at least two of three assessments (2014, 2019, 2024). Only trajectory groups comprising at least 5% of the sample were retained. Associations of baseline BMI and BMI trajectories with frailty were analyzed using Poisson regression with robust variance, adjusted for confounders and calf circumference. Results: Baseline underweight and overweight prevalence were 9.2% and 56.2%, respectively. Trajectory modeling identified three BMI groups: eutrophic (31.6%), overweight (56.4%), and obesity (12.0%). Obesity emerged as a distinct longitudinal trajectory rather than a baseline BMI category. Underweight did not emerge as a distinct BMI trajectory due to its low prevalence over time. Frailty prevalence in 2024 was 36.5%. Overweight trajectory participants had lower frailty prevalence after ten years (PR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.54–0.99), while baseline underweight was associated with higher frailty ten years later (PR = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.05–2.84), consistent with the known risk of underweight and the potential protective effect observed in overweight older adults. Conclusions: Baseline underweight increased frailty risk, whereas an overweight trajectory showed a potential protective effect, consistent with the “obesity paradox” in older populations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes in Diet, Physical Activity, and Anthropometric Parameters During Aging: What to Focus On?)
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17 pages, 1255 KB  
Article
Arachidic Acid-Carrying Phosphatidylglycerol Lipids Statistically Mediate the Relationship Between Central Adiposity and Cognitive Function in Cognitively Unimpaired Older Adults
by Maria Kadyrov, Luke Whiley, Kirk I. Erickson, Belinda Brown and Elaine Holmes
Nutrients 2025, 17(21), 3405; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17213405 - 29 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1036
Abstract
Background: Central adiposity is a modifiable risk factor for age-related cognitive decline and has been linked to lipid dysregulation. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship, particularly the role of plasma lipids at the species level, remain poorly understood. This study investigates whether lipids [...] Read more.
Background: Central adiposity is a modifiable risk factor for age-related cognitive decline and has been linked to lipid dysregulation. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship, particularly the role of plasma lipids at the species level, remain poorly understood. This study investigates whether lipids mediate the relationship between central adiposity and cognition in cognitively unimpaired older adults. Methods: Ninety-four cognitively normal older adults (n = 94, mean age 69.0 ± 5.0 years, 54% female) were included in this study. Cognitive composite scores were derived from z-standardised neuropsychological assessments, and central adiposity was measured using the waist–hip ratio (WHR). Lipidomic profiling identified 918 lipid species, which were clustered into modules of highly correlated lipids using a Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis (WGCNA). Modules associated with the WHR and cognition were identified via partial Spearman’s correlation analysis, followed by a mediation analysis. Results: Of the 39 lipid modules identified, 1 enriched with phosphatidylglycerol (PG) lipids containing an arachidic acid (20:0) sidechain was positively correlated with cognition (ρ = 0.32, FDR p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the WHR (ρ = −0.43, FDR p < 0.001). Mediation analysis revealed that this arachidic acid-carrying PG lipid-enriched module mediated the WHR–cognition relationship, with individual species PG (20:0_16:1), PG (20:0_18:1), and PG (20:0_18:2) also contributing individually. Conclusions: Arachidic acid-carrying PG lipids statistically mediate the WHR–cognition relationship in cognitively unimpaired older adults. These findings suggest that adiposity-related lipid pathways are detectable in cognitively unimpaired older adults and may represent targets for early intervention to preserve cognitive health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Changes in Diet, Physical Activity, and Anthropometric Parameters During Aging: What to Focus On?)
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