14 The Open Anthropology Journal, 2008, 1, 14-18 1874-9127/08 2008 Bentham Open Open Access Environmental Influence and Health Status of Elderly Renu Tyagi 1 , Satwanti Kapoor 1, * and A.K. Kapoor 2 1 Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007, India and 2 Vice Chancellor, Jiwaji University, Gwal- ior-474011, M.P., India Abstract: The study was conducted in order to explore and compare the health status of the elderly living in two different environmental setups. Height, weight, heart rate and blood pressure were measured in 259 subjects ranging from 60-85 years. This process includes 120 elderly from old age homes and 139 elderly living with their families. Body mass index was calculated statistically. Nutritional status was assessed using the BMI guidelines of WHO. Significant differences were found in weight, heart rate, blood pressure and BMI between most of the age groups of old age homes and females living with families. Percentage of overweight/obesity was found to be relatively higher among females living with families as compared to those living in old age homes. The blood pressure showed positive and sig- nificant association [p<0.01] with the BMI. The cardiovascular functions [p<0.001] and nutritional status [p<0.05] were found to be significantly influenced by the environmental set up. Key Words: Ageing, old age homes, nutritional status, adiposity, cardio-vascular health. INTRODUCTION An increasing proportion of elderly people in India and similar trends in other countries indicate a need for more attention towards them. Life expectancy of males in India is 63.9 years and that of females is 66.9 years [1]. A higher proportion of females with comparison to males in 60 years and above category demands an additional focus towards the elderly women. A transition of traditional joint family sys- tem to the nuclear families has given rise to the concept of institutionalization or old age homes in India as well. There are more than 1012 old age homes (all types of institutions included) in India [2] and their number is continuously in- creasing. There are two types of Old Age Homes in India. One is the "Free" type which cares for the destitute old peo- ple who have no one else to take care for them. They are given shelter, food, clothing and medical care. The second type is the "Paid" home where care is provided through payment. Four main reasons for shifting to old age homes were reported to be the poverty, no support from the chil- dren, no one to take care fo and loneliness [3]. Advancing age pose a challenge to morphological and physiological function of man. Old age is associated with ill health, physical and sensory impairment, heightened sensi- tivity and increased susceptibility to the diseases [4]. Ageing is a series of parallel process related to one another [5]. Obesity, a global epidemic, is found to be associated with increased risk of disease morbidity and mortality [6]. There are more than 300 million obese people worldwide and there is an increase of 100 million in this number since 1995 [7]. Body composition i.e., the relative and absolute amount of *Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007, India; Tel: 011-27667329; Fax: 011- 27666614; E-mail: satwanti@yahoo.com lean body mass and depot fat is one of the most variable characteristics of the organism. It undergoes changes throughout life. Body composition is affected by age, sex, race, genes and numerous environmental and behavioural factors [8]. It is not only the quantity of fat but the way it is distributed end up in more health complications. With ad- vancing age, the regional adiposity, as assessed by the Waist Hip Ratio (WHR) was found to increase consistently with age [9,10] whereas BMI does not show such consistency with age. Indices of general adiposity i.e. Body Mass Index (BMI) and Grand Mean Thickness (GMT) were found to increase till the sixth decade of life thereafter it declined however, the regional adiposity (WHR) showed an increase with age thereby redistribution of fat with age in favour of central adiposity was reported among females [11] which has epidemiological implications. There are certain changes in the nutritional status of the body and dietary intake with age. Elderly become vulnerable to malnutrition owing to inappropriate dietary intake, poor economic status and social deprivation [12]. Anthropometric measurements are often used to assess the nutritional status of individual and community [13]. The Body mass index (BMI) is the most established indicator for assessment of adult nutritional status [14]. The BMI has also been widely used as a practical measure of chronic energy deficiency [15]. Both underweight and overweight constitute adult mal- nutrition. So there is a need to study the proportion of both underweight and overweight to assess the malnutrition caused due to both excess and less fat in the body. Studies on old age home residents are very few and even those studies also focus the social [16,17], psychological [18,19] profile of the elderly. Research with reference to biological characteristics of the elderly people in India high- lighting comparative assessment of elderly in old age homes and families are non-existent.