['To investigate candidate predictors for insulin sensitivity in healthy elderly males, with special reference to the influence of insulin-mediated skeletal muscle blood flow and serum nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA).', 'From the participants in a health survey of 70-year-old males, focusing on cardiovascular risk factors, a subgroup of 46 men was sampled. Only men who declared themselves healthy and without medication were included.', 'Insulin sensitivity was measured with the euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp. Leg blood flow was measured before and during the clamp, using the Doppler ultrasound technique.', 'Hyperinsulinaemia [steady-state plasma insulin 105(15) mU L-1] increased leg blood flow by 10% (P < 0.004). When tested in bivariate analysis incremental leg blood flow was only significantly related to the serum NEFA concentration (r = - 0.38, P < 0.01) amongst a number of measured variables. Insulin-mediated glucose disposal was related to body mass index (BMI) (r = -0.49, P = 0. 0006), waist/hip ratio (r = - 0.31, P = 0.036), NEFA (r = - 0.50, P = 0.0004) and heart rate (r = - 0.34, P = 0.02). In multivariate analysis only BMI and NEFA remained significantly related to whole-body glucose uptake.'] Are insulin-mediated vasodilation and glucose uptake independently related to fasting serum nonesterified fatty acids in elderly men?