| Abstract: | This work consisted in the analysis of anthropometric data collected in 1980 in a representative sample of the adult population of the Republic of Panama, according to sex, place of residence, and age. As the data revealed, the adult Panamanian male has an average weight of 61.8 kg and a height of 165.0 cm, and the female, an average weight of 55.4 kg and a height of 154.0 cm. The average weight and height of the adult population differ in the different provinces of the country. Thus, Veraguas and San Blas have the lowest averages in weight and height while the adult men of the provinces of Panama, Bocas del Toro and Colón present the best nutritional conditions. Women increase in weight as age advances until reaching a maximum peak between 45 and 54 years of age. In the males, the average highest weight occurs at an earlier age, between 25 and 29 years old, and is maintained until the age of 45-54. From then on, a decrease in weight as age advances, begins to be observed in both sexes. Apparently, the height of the Panamanian population has increased through time, as reflected by the average height of the different age groups studied in 1980, when compared with similar information obtained in 1967. It is concluded that a Food and Nutrition Surveillance System in Panama must contemplate the inclusion of anthropometric data that describe the nutritional conditions of the adult Panamanian groups. |
