A total of 713 female seniors (above 60 years of age) residing in north-eastern Poland were invited to the study, and 661 of those agreed to participate in the research. The participants were selected by purposive-probability sampling. The Federation of Social Work Organizations in the voivodeship of Warmia and Mazury (Figure 1) keeps a database of seniors, and it assisted the researchers in selecting the survey sample and contacting respondents. Warmia and Mazury was selected for the study for a number of reasons. This peripheral region is located along Poland’s north-eastern border. Agriculture and tourism are the main sources of income, and unemployment is relatively high, in particular outside the tourist season. The region is covered by extensive forests and agricultural land; industrial development is low, and the local road network is sparse. As a result, Warmia and Mazury is characterized by the lowest incomes and one of the highest poverty rates in Poland (Observatory of Social Integration, 2013). Young people emigrate to other Polish regions in search of employment. Warmia and Mazury has a rapidly aging population and a low fertility rate, which leads to a population decline (The Government Population Council, 2017). Elderly residents in large cities and adjacent rural areas (satellite villages) receive support from senior organizations and institutions implementing senior policies, and they have better access to healthcare services. Older people living in urban areas often belong to formal and informal community groups, participate in various activities, and are more willing to take part in surveys, which is why information about their HS is much easier to acquire. However, Warmia and Mazury is a largely rural region, and seniors residing in small towns and villages are much more difficult to access. According to Statistics Poland (GUS, 2020), population aging will proceed much more rapidly in Warmia and Mazury than in other Polish regions. Therefore, an analysis of age-related changes in A&BC characteristics should be conducted in this region. The study involved only female seniors because the feminization of aging can be clearly observed in Warmia and Mazury. Elderly women living in the largest city in the region (with a population of 130,000), more than ten small towns (up to 20,000), and several dozen traditional villages situated remotely from urban centers were selected for the study.

The study had been approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (UWM), Poland (decision No. 06/2018). The participants were senior female volunteers who signed an informed consent statement.

The participants were surveyed with the use of a questionnaire to elicit information about their socioeconomic status (chronic illnesses, HS, marital status, membership in community organizations, financial status, place of residence, educational background). The study involved an original survey questionnaire developed by the authors. The questionnaire was developed based on a review of the literature on socioeconomic surveys, the authors’ previous experience, and survey tools that had been used by other authors to measure SES. Due to cognitive impairment resulting from old age and/or educational deficiencies, some participants had to be surveyed with the use of face-to-face interviews to facilitate communication and ensure that the questions were correctly understood.

Self-assessed HS is a general measure of health that combines physical, social, emotional, and mental health, as well as wellbeing (Doiron et al., 2015). In the questionnaire, the participants could select one of the four responses to describe their HS: 1) good, 2) rather good, 3) average, and 4) poor. However, to ensure that each group was appropriately sized, the surveyed seniors were divided into two groups with higher (good and rather good) and lower (average and poor) values of self-assessed HS. The same approach was used to classify respondents based on the results of the self-assessment of financial status.

Women’s PA levels were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ—Polish short version) based on the average number of minutes dedicated to PA per week. The Polish version of the IPAQ has been registered by the IPAQ International Committee (Biernat et al., 2007). The energy expenditure associated with the reported activities was expressed in metabolic equivalent of task (MET) units. The MET is the ratio of the working metabolic rate to the resting metabolic rate, where 1 MET denotes the amount of oxygen utilized per minute (3.5 mL/kg/min) (Lee et al., 2011). Based on the number of METs per minute, the participants were divided into groups representing low (L < 600 METs/min/week), moderate (M < 1,500 METs/min/week), and high (H ≥ 1,500 METs/min/week) levels of activity.

Body height was measured to the nearest 1 mm with a calibrated Soehlne Electronic Height Rod 5,003 (Soehnle Professional, Backnang, Germany) according to standardized guidelines. Body composition parameters, including body mass [kg] (measured to the nearest 0.1 kg), body mass index—BMI [kg/m²], total body water—TBW [kg], protein and mineral content [kg], body fat mass—BFM [kg], fat-free mass—FFM [kg], skeletal muscle mass—SMM [kg], percent body fat—PBF [%], waist-hip ratio - WHR, and visceral fat level—VFL, were determined by bioelectrical impedance with the InBody 270) body composition analyzer (InBody Poland, Białystok, Poland) (Alföldi et al., 2021). Body fat mass (BFM) and fat-free mass (FFM) were calculated in both percentage [%] and kilograms [kg] for the upper limbs, trunk, and the lower limbs. The following BMI classification has been proposed for persons older than 60 years: underweight = less than 23 kg/m², normal/overweight = 23.0–29.9 kg/m², obese = 30.0 kg/m² or greater for persons both younger and older than 80 (Villareal et al., 2011; Flegal et al., 2013; Waters et al., 2013; Winter et al., 2014; Porter Starr and Bales, 2015). Very few of the surveyed seniors had a BMI below 23 kg/m², and general adult population standards were applied to obtain a successfully representative sample. Upper and lower limb measurements were presented in tables as the mean values of the measurements performed in the right and left limb.

The results were processed statistically in the Statistica 13.5 program. The relationships between the analyzed A&BC characteristics and the respondents’ age were evaluated based on the values of the Pearson correlation coefficient (r), separately for each category of grouping variables, at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05.

Body height decreases with age in all races and both sexes, and it is related to aging changes in the bones, muscles, and joints. Past the age of 40, body height is typically reduced by around 1 cm (half an inch) every 10 years, and the decline in body stature accelerates past the age of 70 (Shah and Vilareal, 2017). In the present study, age-related height loss was greater in women with chronic illness, lower HS, insufficient PA levels, overweight and obesity, married women, women who did not belong to community organizations, women with a lower financial status, women living in cities, and, surprisingly, better educated women. The study confirmed a significant age-related decrease in body mass, excluding in subjects with good and very good HS, women with a BMI below 25 kg/m², seniors who were not members of community organizations, and women living in rural areas. Women usually gain body mass until the age of 65, and a gradual reduction in body mass is observed in later years (Shah and Villareal, 2017). Overweight and obese seniors are at greater risk of functional decline, falling, loss of muscle power, malnutrition, gait and balance problems (Kıskaç et al., 2022). Therefore, the BMI is associated with functional capacity in the elderly, and the higher the BMI, the greater the risk of functional decline (Galanos et al., 1994). It can be postulated that at least some chronic illnesses affecting the examined seniors are directly related to excessive body mass and insufficient PA levels. In the current study, chronic illness and insufficient PA levels were significantly correlated with a larger number of the analyzed A&BC characteristics, and they appear to be significantly implicated in the severity of age-related involutional changes.

In seniors, body mass decreases partly because fat replaces lean muscle tissue and fat weighs less than muscle (Peter et al., 2014; Sperrin et al., 2016). Loss of muscle mass in the legs and stiffer joints compromise mobility. Excess body fat and changes in body shape can affect balance, and obese individuals at greater risk of falling (Walston, 2020). Diet (Zaragoza-Martí et al., 2020), exercise habits (McPhee et al., 2016) are significantly linked with lifetime changes in body mass. The present study did not set out to examine the influence of eating habits on body composition characteristics; therefore, the presence of such a correlation cannot be unambiguously confirmed. Research on older adults’ eating habits revealed that economic factors affect the quality of senior diets (Conklin et al., 2013). This study also demonstrated that sufficient PA levels can significantly delay aging processes, body mass and including a decrease in FFM and SMM, bone demineralization, and impaired lipid metabolism, and the values of VFL, WHR, BMI, and BFM were more desirable in physically active women (Table 2). The WHR is influenced not only by a reduction in waist circumference, but also by increased fat accumulation in the hips, which is commonly observed in elderly women (Folsom et al., 1993; Shah and Villareal, 2017). In the studied population, the mean value of PBF exceeded the norm and was determined at 37.2%.

According to Eurostat data (2020), less than 50% of Polish citizens aged 65–74 believe that they are in very good or good health, and this result is significantly below the EU average (68.5%). In the EU-27, senior women (aged 65 years and older) are also less likely to assess their HS as good or very good in comparison with elderly men (36.5% vs 43.1%). In the current study, the age-related decline in A&BC characteristics was more pronounced in seniors with poor HS and chronic health conditions. This observation gives serious cause for concern, not only because poor health can lead to physical impairment (Tasioudi et al., 2023). Chronic illnesses such as diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease, chronic pulmonary disease, and hypertension are significantly more likely to cause clinical depression and mood disorders in the elderly than in the general population (Norwood. 2007; Hackett and Anderson, 2005; Chang-Quan Huang et al., 2010; Izquierdo et al., 2021).

Huang, Ghose, and Tang (2020) demonstrated that in seniors, self-assessed HS is associated with financial security. The age-related decline in the financial status of elderly women is linked with poor health, higher costs of medical treatment and long-term care. Increased spending on healthcare depletes seniors’ budgets and decreases their ability to meet other life needs, which can also exert negative consequences on health. The risk of overweight and obesity increases with age. In 2017, more than one-fifth (21.2%) of seniors aged 65–74 years and 14.7% of the general population older than 16 years were overweight in the EU-27 (Eurostat, 2020). In the present study, the parameters indicative of fat accumulation (VFL, WHR, BMI, and BFM) generally decreased with age. This observation should be regarded as a positive trend, in particular since the prevalence of obesity has been rising steadily, including among the elderly, in the last two decades, especially in developed countries (Goulart and Rexrode, 2007). A study conducted in Malaysia also revealed that the prevalence of obesity decreased with aging (by 48.5% in 60–69-year-olds, by 20.8% in 70–79-year-olds, and by 11.8% in seniors aged ≥80 years), and was higher among females (42.9%) than males (38.3%) (Kyaw et al., 2022). A comparison of American seniors aged 64–74 with those aged 75+ revealed a similar trend. In 2007–2010, approximately 35% of Americans aged 65+ were classified as obese based on their BMI. In crude numbers, this represents over 8 million adults aged 64–74 years and almost 5 million adults aged 75 and older. The prevalence of obesity was lower in the 75+ (27.8%) than the 65–74 population (40.8%) (Fakhouri et al., 2012). Between 2000 and 2010, the prevalence of moderate to severe obesity in nursing homes increased from 14.7% to 23.9% (Felix et al., 2015). The number of overweight seniors can be expected to increase with population aging. Paradoxically, higher life expectancy does not imply that seniors will enjoy additional years of life in good health, but that many seniors will spend longer periods of time in chronically ill health (Vincent and Velkoff, 2010). The risk of extreme BMI (underweight or obesity) increases with age, which contributes to higher mortality in these population groups (Goulartand Rexrode, 2007).

The segmental body analysis revealed a significant decrease in FFM and BFM values, in particular among seniors with chronic illness, poor HS, insufficient PA levels, and relative obesity. The observed decline was particularly pronounced in the upper limbs and the trunk, whereas significant changes in the lower limbs were associated mainly with low PA levels and were manifested in the values of FFM, BFM, and PBFM. Lower values of FFM, BFM, and PBFM in the upper and lower limbs were more frequently noted in married women, women belonging to community organizations, seniors with a low financial status, and urban residents. In turn, education did not induce equally profound differences in the compared parameters, excluding FFM and PFFM in the trunk which were less desirable in city dwellers.

The age-related decline in FFM and BFM (expressed in both kg and %) was less severe in the lower limbs, probably because muscular atrophy can differ in functional groups (Vidt et al., 2012). Lower limbs enable locomotion, and seniors tend to elicit leg muscles more frequently than arm muscles (Sousa et al., 2011). Overall muscle mass declines with age, but it is proportionally greater in the lower than the upper limbs (Reimers et al., 1998; Hughes et al., 2001; Janssen and Ross, 2005; Ferrreira et al., 2009).

Married seniors tend to enjoy better health than elderly people who live alone (Janghorbani et al., 2008; Mata et al., 2015; Dakowicz, 2017; Williams et al., 2017; Zueras et al., 2020). Married seniors also tend to be more active than their single counterparts (Pette et al., 2006). As previously demonstrated, adequate PA levels delay aging, which is why the results of this study are surprising. Married seniors were characterized by a more rapid decline in body composition parameters and a more rapid onset on involutional changes in comparison with single women. Markey et al. (2005) found that in comparison with single individuals, marriage was more likely to instill proactive health attitudes in men than in women. They also observed that women are socialized into nurturing roles and giving selfless support to others. Therefore, women who are wives and mothers are more likely to prioritize the health of their family members over their own health (Markey et al., 2005). In turn, single seniors can focus on their own health, and they have more time to pursue leisure activities, including PA, which deliver measurable health benefits (Nomaguchi and Bianchi, 2004; Meltzer et al., 2013). An analysis of the A&BC characteristics of the studied seniors confirms the above observations.

Senior organizations, in particular Universities of the Third Age, are very popular in Poland. Most of them operate in cities, and they offer various educational programs, including on healthy living, as well as sports and recreational activities for seniors (Omelan et al., 2019.; Omelan et al., 2020). However, the survey did not involve questions about the types of activities undertaken by senior women who were members of such organizations. Therefore, it remains unknown whether the respondents attended lectures and workshops on healthy living, participated in sports and recreational activities, or were active members of such organizations. However, judging by the results, this is unlikely. It should be noted that the surveyed seniors belong to a generation of Poles with very low levels of PA. Based on the results reported by Śniadek and Zajadacz (2010), it can be safely assumed that none of the examined elderly women had ever undertaken any form of PA on a regular basis. The present study also revealed that seniors’ financial status considerably affects their PA levels. Polish older adults with low incomes tend to have much lower PA levels (Kalbarczyk and Mackiewicz-Łyziak, 2019). Due to the lack of life-long exercise habits or poor health, the respondents could have opted for other types of activities (such as art or foreign languages) that do not exert a major influence on physical health, which could explain the rapid decline in BC parameters in women who belonged to such organizations.

As previously mentioned, most respondents who were members of senior organizations lived in cities, and urban residence was yet another factor that was associated with an age-related decline in A&BC characteristics. The respondents’ living environment, as well as factors that are responsible for differences in the lifestyles of urban and rural dwellers should be examined to explain the observed decline in BC parameters and the rate of involutional changes.

Local environmental factors can affect the quality of seniors’ lives. These include problems with pollution and access to healthy food, which are probably greater in urbanized areas. The health implications of environmental pollution have been widely researched, and pollution can be partly responsible for the more rapid advance of involutional changes in urban residents (Simoni et al., 2015; Andrade et al., 2023). Nutrition also plays an important role in this context. The survey questionnaire did not contain diet-related questions, but based on the literature (Norman et al., 2021) and the observations conducted during face-to-face interviews, it can be assumed that seniors residing in rural areas have better access to healthy, fresh, and unprocessed food. In rural Poland, most people grow their own fruit and vegetables and keep livestock after they retire, partly for financial reasons (Hornowski et al., 2020). These activities are not only a source of healthy food, but they are also a form of regular outdoor exercise with health benefits. Seniors living in cities do not have such opportunities, which could explain the more rapid progression of involutional changes among urban than rural dwellers.

Age-related changes also proceeded more rapidly in women with higher educational attainment. There is considerable evidence to indicate that better educated adults live longer and healthier lives than their less educated peers (Kemp and Karas Montez, 2020; Raghupathi and Raghupathi, 2020). In better educated seniors, this is significantly linked with higher income (Ross and Wu. 2019). Education appears to confer a lifelong advantage for healthy aging (Meeks and Murrell. 2001). Education has been shown to reduce mortality in elderly women, but it was not significantly associated with the transition from health to disability (Martin et al., 2014; Rodriguez-Laso et al., 2014). In turn, Chen and Hu (2018) found that non-disabled Chinese seniors who had attended primary school were characterized by both lower mortality and disability in comparison with older adults without any education, whereas those who attended high school and above had only a lower mortality rate. Therefore, we agree with Cutler and Lleras-Muney (2008) that the association between education and health is complicated and involves numerous factors that include (but are not limited to) the relationship between demographics and the family background. In the present study, age-related changes proceeded most rapidly in better educated seniors who lived mostly in cities, and the influence of urban residence on the decline in BC parameters was discussed above. In addition, most university graduates work office jobs that do not require physical effort. When combined with the lack of regular PA in adulthood, better education can contribute to a more rapid progression of age-related changes in comparison with less educated individuals who are more likely to work in manual occupations.

The strength of this study was that the authors were able to reach elderly women who have been living and working in traditional agricultural villages all their lives. Traditional rural environments are difficult to study due to logistic as well as mental constraints. Many villages in Warmia and Mazury are situated remotely from cities, and they are difficult to access. Elderly women living in rural communities are poorly educated, have little knowledge about the contemporary world, are mistrustful of scientists and reluctant to participate in research studies. Some rural respondents suffered from mental impairments and had problems with understanding all questions, which posed an additional challenge. Therefore, some seniors had to be surveyed during face-to-face interviews to elicit data for the study. The IPAQ was a certain limitation because it assesses PA levels based on the last 7 days of recalled physical activity. Physical activity levels based on IPAQ were measured using a past week questionnaire, which has important implications for the interpretation of the results. Tools that assess past-week, self-reported levels of PA are subject to seasonal fluctuations, in particular in countries where temperature, precipitation, and number of daylight hours differ across the seasons (Matthews et al., 2001). In the present study, data were collected in fall and winter months, which could explain the low PA levels of the surveyed seniors. In addition, widows were classified as single women despite the fact that these social groups have different lifestyles. Widows are characterized by significantly lower PA levels and tend to lead more sedentary lives than married women (Park et al., 2023).