THE ANTHROPOMETRY OF THE ELDERLY

The anthropometric elderly, arbitrarily defined as those 65 years of age and above, are a distinct subgroup with special human factors needs. They are significantly smaller in stature and in many other body dimensions than the general population. This smaller size results both from the secular trend (people are currently growing taller and larger than in the past) and from various biological changes inherent in the aging process. Weight and certain other dimensions are less age-affected, however, except at more advanced ages. Existing information on the anthropometry of the elderly is reviewed, and tabular data are presented on selected ″human engineering″ dimensions. Additional, more comprehensive, functional anthropometric data are needed for this population.