Reference Data for Fat Mass and Fat-Free Mass Measured by Bioelectrical Impedance in Croatian Youth

Fat mass and fat-free mass have become useful clinical indices in determining healthy growth and physical development during critical periods of childhood and adolescence; however, despite a wide range of nutritional surveillance its study is limited by a lack of reference data. The purpose of this study was to establish sex-specific and age-specific standards for fat mass and fat-free mass in a large sample of Croatian children and adolescents. In this cross-sectional study, we collected data from 12,678 participants aged 11 to 18 years old (mean age ± standard deviation (SD): 14.17 ± 2.25 years; height 164.56 ± 11.31 cm; weight: 57.45 ± 13.73 kg; body mass index: 21.24 ± 3.67 kg/m2; 53% girls). Fat mass and fat-free mass were measured three times by bioelectrical impedance. The Lambda, Mu and Sigma methods were used to create percentile charts for fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI; fat mass and fat-free mass divided by height2). Sex and age differences were calculated using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc comparisons. Boys had lower FMI (from 2.66 to 3.89) and higher FFMI values (from 16.90 to 17.80) in all age groups, compared to girls (for FMI from 2.79 to 5.17 and for FFMI from 14.50 to 14.90, p < 0.001). In boys, FMI slightly declined until the age of 14, after which an increase from the age of 15 to 18 was observed. In girls, FMI gradually increased from the age of 11 to 18 (p < 0.001). In general, FFMI increased by age in boys [F(7,5440) = 52.674, p < 0.001], while girls had more stable FFMI across all age groups [F(7,7222) = 2.728, p = 0.057]. The newly established sex-specific and age-specific reference data could be used for national surveillance and to screen for children and adolescents with high FMI and low FFMI.

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Muscle Function in Saudi Children and Adolescents: Relationship to Anthropometric Characteristics during Growth

Pediatric Exercise Science ◽

10.1123/pes.19.3.319 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 319-333 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Khalid S. Almuzaini

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Anaerobic Power ◽

Age Groups ◽

Fat Free Mass ◽

Power Indices ◽

Isokinetic Strength ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Age Related ◽

Wide Range ◽

Anthropometric Characteristics

The main purpose of the present study was to determine isokinetic strength and endurance, isometric strength, and anaerobic power for untrained healthy Saudi children and adolescents. The secondary purpose was to evaluate the effects of age in relation to anthropometric characteristics on strength and anaerobic performances. Forty-four (untrained) 11- to 19-year-old boys were grouped by age: 11-13 years, 14–16 years, and 17–19 years. All participants underwent anthropometric measurements, a flexibility test, a vertical jump test, a grip strength test, isokinetic strength measurements (Cybex Norm), and a Wingate anaerobic power test. Oneway ANOVA results indicated age-related increases in muscle strength and power. High correlation coefficients that were found among age and strength and anaerobic power indices almost disappeared when fat-free mass (FFM) was controlled for, indicating that the amount of variance in these indices that was explained by age is mostly shared by FFM. In addition, stepwise linear regression models indicated that FFM was the main predictor of strength and power performances. Thus, FFM was the best scaling variable for body size when comparing these age groups of Saudis. Until wide-range normal representative values for isokinetic strength and anaerobic power for Saudi children and adolescents are available, the present study’s results can serve as a reference for these indices.

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Body Composition Characteristics of a Load-Capacity Model: Age-Dependent and Sex-Specific Percentiles in 5- to 17-Year-Old Children

Obesity Facts ◽

10.1159/000518638 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 593-603

Author(s):

Isabel Gätjens ◽

Steffen Christian Ekkehard Schmidt ◽

Sandra Plachta-Danielzik ◽

Anja Bosy-Westphal ◽

Manfred James Müller

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Fat Mass ◽

Reference Data ◽

Load Capacity ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Overweight Children ◽

Body Composition Assessment ◽

Capacity Model ◽

Age Dependent

Introduction: Body composition assessment is superior to the use of body mass index (BMI) to characterize the nutritional status in pediatric populations. For data interpretation, suitable reference data are needed; hence, we aimed to generate age-dependent and sex-specific body composition reference data in a larger population of children and adolescents in Germany. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study on a representative group of 15,392 5- to 17-year-old children and adolescents. Body composition was assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis using a population-specific algorithm validated against air displacement plethysmography. Age- and sex-specific percentiles for BMI, fat mass index (FMI), fat-free mass index (FFMI), and a “load-capacity model” (characterized by the ratios of fat mass [FM]/ fatt-free mass [FFM] and FM/FFM2) were modeled using the LMS method. Results: BMI, FMI, FFMI, FM/FFM, and FM/FFM2 curves showed similar shapes between boys and girls with steady increases in BMI, FMI, and FFMI, while FM/FFM2-centiles decreased during early childhood and adolescence. Sex differences were observed in FMI and FM/FFM percentiles with increases in FMI up to age 9 years followed by a steady decrease in FM/FFM during and after puberty with a fast-growing FFMI up to age 17 in boys. The prevalence of low FFM relative to FM reached more than 60% in overweight children and adolescents. Conclusion: These pediatric body composition reference data enable physicians and public health scientists to monitor body composition during growth and development and to interpret individual data. The data point out to an early risk of sarcopenia in overweight children and adolescents.

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Body composition in childhood: effects of normal growth and disease

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1079/pns2003261 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 62 (2) ◽

pp. 521-528 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

J. C. K. Wells

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Childhood Obesity ◽

Fat Mass ◽

Lean Mass ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Fat Free Mass ◽

General Interest ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Adult Disease ◽

Increased Risk

Body composition in children is of increasing interest within the contexts of childhood obesity, clinical management of patients and nutritional programming as a pathway to adult disease. Energy imbalance appears to be common in many disease states; however, body composition is not routinely measured in patients. Traditionally, clinical interest has focused on growth or nutritional status, whereas more recent studies have quantified fat mass and lean mass. The human body changes in proportions and chemical composition during childhood and adolescence. Most of the weight gain comprises lean mass rather than fat. In general, interest has focused on percentage fat, and less attention has been paid to the way in which lean mass varies within and between individuals. In the general population secular trends in BMI have been widely reported, indicating increasing levels of childhood obesity, which have been linked to reduced physical activity. However, lower activity levels may potentially lead not only to increased fatness, but also to reduced lean mass. This issue merits further investigation. Diseases have multiple effects on body composition and may influence fat-free mass and/or fat mass. In some diseases both components change in the same direction, whereas in other diseases, the changes are contradictory and may be concealed by relatively normal weight. Improved techniques are required for clinical evaluations. Both higher fatness and reduced lean mass may represent pathways to an increased risk of adult disease.

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Ambulatory Blood Pressure Recordings in Children and Adolescents

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.94.2.180 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 94 (2) ◽

pp. 180-184

Author(s):

Gregory A. Harshfield ◽

Bruce S. Alpert ◽

Derrick A. Pulliam ◽

Grant W. Somes ◽

Dawn K. Wilson

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Systolic Blood Pressure ◽

Ambulatory Blood Pressure ◽

Reference Data ◽

Blood Pressure Monitoring ◽

Age Groups ◽

Specific Reference ◽

Pressure Monitoring ◽

Black And White

Objective. To provide reference data for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) and to determine the influence of age, sex, and race on these values. Methods. ABPM was performed on 300 healthy, normotensive boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18 years, including 160 boys and 140 girls, of whom 149 were white and 151 were black. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) while awake and during sleep were calculated for black and white boys and girls aged 10 to 12 years, 13 to 15 years, and 16 to 18 years. Results. Boys compared with girls 10 to 12 years of age had higher mean (±SD) SBP (115 ± 9 vs 112 ± 9 mm Hg; P < .01) and DBP (67 ± 7 vs 65 ± 5 mm Hg; P < .01) while awake. Boys compared to girls 13 to 15 years of age had higher SBP while awake (116 ± 11 vs 112 ± 8 mm Hg; P < .01). Boys compared with girls 16 to 18 years of age had higher SBP while awake (125 ± 12 vs 111 ± 9 mm Hg; P < .01) and during sleep (116 ± 11 vs 106 ± 9 mm Hg). Comparisons within sex showed similar changes with age for boys and girls. Blacks compared with whites 13 to 15 years of age had higher SBP during sleep (109 ± 11 vs 105 ± 10 mm Hg; P < .01), and blacks compared with whites 16 to 18 years of age had higher DBP during sleep (66 ± 7 vs 58 ± 6 mm Hg; P < .01). Comparisons across age groups within race showed that blacks 16 to 18 years of age had higher SBP during sleep than blacks 10 to 12 years of age (109 ± 11 vs 104 ± 10 mm Hg), and higher DBP during sleep (66 ± 7 mm Hg; P < .01) than blacks 10 to 12 years of age (61 ± 7 mm Hg; P < .01) and 13 to 15 years of age (61 ± 8; P < .01 mm Hg). The changes with age were not significant for white subjects. Conclusion. These results provide age-specific reference data for ABPM in youths. These values differ by sex (boys more than girls) and race (Blacks more than Whites).

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Clinicopathological significance of psychotic experiences in non-psychotic young people: evidence from four population-based studies

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.111.101543 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 201 (1) ◽

pp. 26-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 255

Author(s):

I. Kelleher ◽

H. Keeley ◽

P. Corcoran ◽

F. Lynch ◽

C. Fitzpatrick ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Psychotic Disorder ◽

Early Adolescence ◽

Longitudinal Research ◽

Age Groups ◽

Population Based ◽

Diagnostic Interview ◽

Psychotic Symptoms ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Wide Range ◽

Clinicopathological Significance

BackgroundEpidemiological research has shown that hallucinations and delusions, the classic symptoms of psychosis, are far more prevalent in the population than actual psychotic disorder. These symptoms are especially prevalent in childhood and adolescence. Longitudinal research has demonstrated that psychotic symptoms in adolescence increase the risk of psychotic disorder in adulthood. There has been a lack of research, however, on the immediate clinicopathological significance of psychotic symptoms in adolescence.AimsTo investigate the relationship between psychotic symptoms and non-psychotic psychopathology in community samples of adolescents in terms of prevalence, co-occurring disorders, comorbid (multiple) psychopathology and variation across early v. middle adolescence.MethodData from four population studies were used: two early adolescence studies (ages 11–13 years) and two mid-adolescence studies (ages 13–16 years). Studies 1 and 2 involved school-based surveys of 2243 children aged 11–16 years for psychotic symptoms and for emotional and behavioural symptoms of psychopathology. Studies 3 and 4 involved in-depth diagnostic interview assessments of psychotic symptoms and lifetime psychiatric disorders in community samples of 423 children aged 11–15 years.ResultsYounger adolescents had a higher prevalence (21–23%) of psychotic symptoms than older adolescents (7%). In both age groups the majority of adolescents who reported psychotic symptoms had at least one diagnosable non-psychotic psychiatric disorder, although associations with psychopathology increased with age: nearly 80% of the mid-adolescence sample who reported psychotic symptoms had at least one diagnosis, compared with 57% of the early adolescence sample. Adolescents who reported psychotic symptoms were at particularly high risk of having multiple co-occurring diagnoses.ConclusionsPsychotic symptoms are important risk markers for a wide range of non-psychotic psychopathological disorders, in particular for severe psychopathology characterised by multiple co-occurring diagnoses. These symptoms should be carefully assessed in all patients.

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Accounting for height in indices of body composition during childhood and adolescence

Wellcome Open Research ◽

10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15280.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 105 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Linda M. O'Keeffe ◽

Abigail Fraser ◽

Laura D. Howe

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Body Mass ◽

Fat Mass ◽

Early Life ◽

Fat Free Mass ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Total Body Mass ◽

Total Body ◽

Age And Sex

Correlations of body composition with height vary by age and sex during childhood. Standard approaches to accounting for height in measures of body composition (dividing by height (in meters)2) do not take this into account. Using measures of total body mass (TBM), fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM) at ages nine, 11, 13, 15 and 18 years from a longitudinal UK cohort study (ALSPAC), we calculated indices of body composition at each age by dividing measures by height (in meters)2. We then produced age-and sex-specific powers of height using allometric regressions and calculated body composition indices by dividing measures by height raised to these powers. TBM, FM and FFM divided by height2 were correlated with height up-to age 11 in females. In males, TBM and FM divided by height2 were correlated with height up-to age 15 years while FM divided by height2 was correlated with height up-to age 11 years. Indices of body composition using age-and sex-specific powers were not correlated with height at any age. In early life, age-and sex-specific powers of height, rather than height in meters2, should be used to adjust body composition for height when measures of adiposity/mass independent of height are required.

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Body composition among long distance runners

Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira ◽

10.1590/1806-9282.66.2.180 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 66 (2) ◽

pp. 180-186

Author(s):

Joana Rosado ◽

João P. Duarte ◽

Paulo Sousa-e-Silva ◽

Daniela C. Costa ◽

Diogo V. Martinho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Fat Mass ◽

Adult Male ◽

Bioelectrical Impedance ◽

The Body ◽

Fat Free Mass ◽

Body Density ◽

Distance Runners ◽

Long Distance ◽

Air Displacement Plethysmography

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE The current study aimed to examine the body composition of adult male ultra-trail runners (UTR) according to their level of participation (regional UTR-R, vs. national UTR-N). METHODS The sample was composed of 44 adult male UTR (aged 36.5±7.2 years; UTR-R: n=25; UTR-N: n=19). Body composition was assessed by air displacement plethysmography, bioelectrical impedance, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. In addition, the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was applied. A comparison between the groups was performed using independent samples t-test. RESULTS Significant differences between groups contrasting in the competitive level were found for chronological age (in years; UTR-R: 38.8±8.2 vs. UTR-N: 33.5±4.1); body density (in L.kg-1; UTR-R: 1.062±0.015 vs. UTR-N: 1.074±0.009); and fat mass (in kg; UTR-R: 12.7±6.8 vs. UTR-N: 7.6±2.7). CONCLUSION UTR-N were younger, presented higher values for body density, and had less fat mass, although no significant differences were found for fat-free mass. The current study evidenced the profile of long-distance runners and the need for weight management programs to regulate body composition.

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Associations of Growth Impairment and Body Composition among South African School-Aged Children Enrolled in the KaziAfya Project

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13082735 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 2735

Author(s):

Kurt Z. Long ◽

Johanna Beckmann ◽

Christin Lang ◽

Harald Seelig ◽

Siphesihle Nqweniso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

South African ◽

Fat Mass ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Bioelectrical Impedance ◽

Impedance Analysis ◽

Fat Free Mass ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

School Aged Children

(1) Background: Early childhood malnutrition may result in increased fat mass (FM) among school-aged children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We explored whether South African children with shorter stature have greater overall and abdominal FM compared to normal stature children. (2) Methods: Baseline assessments of body composition and weight were determined among school-aged children enrolled in a randomized controlled trial in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Multiple linear regression models tested associations of children’s height and degree of stunting with FM, fat free mass (FFM), truncal fat mass (TrFM), and truncal fat free mass (TrFFM) overall and by sex. (3) Results: A total of 1287 children (619 girls, 668 boys) were assessed at baseline. Reduced child height was associated with higher FM and lower FFM and TrFFM, but these associations were reversed with increases in height. Girls classified as mildly or moderately/severely stunted had higher FM and TrFM but lower FFM and TrFFM, while no association was found for boys. (4) Conclusions: Our study suggests that efforts to reduce the non-communicable disease burden in LMICs should target growth-impaired children who may have greater overall FM and greater abdominal FM.

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Assessment of Fat Free Mass Using Bioelectrical Impedance in Children and Adolescents.

Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal ◽

10.1097/01823246-199304030-00018 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 16

Author(s):

Y-T Wu ◽

D H Nielsen ◽

S L Cassady ◽

K F Janz ◽

J S Cook ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Bioelectrical Impedance ◽

Fat Free Mass

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Comparison of Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) versus a Multi-frequency Bioelectrical Impedance (InBody 770) Device for Body Composition Assessment after a 4-Week Hypoenergetic Diet

Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology ◽

10.3390/jfmk4020023 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 23 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Antonio ◽

Kenyon ◽

Ellerbroek ◽

Carson ◽

Burgess ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Composition ◽

Energy Intake ◽

Body Fat ◽

Fat Mass ◽

Bioelectrical Impedance ◽

Dual Energy ◽

Fat Free Mass ◽

Percent Body Fat ◽

Men And Women ◽

X Ray

The purpose of this investigation was to compare two different methods of assessing body composition (i.e., a multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (MF-BIA) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)) over a four-week treatment period in exercise-trained men and women. Subjects were instructed to reduce their energy intake while maintaining the same exercise regimen for a period of four weeks. Pre and post assessments for body composition (i.e., fat-free mass, fat mass, percent body fat) were determined via the MF-BIA and DXA. On average, subjects reduced their energy intake by ~18 percent. The MF-BIA underestimated fat mass and percentage body fat and overestimated fat-free mass in comparison to the DXA. However, when assessing the change in fat mass, fat-free mass or percent body fat, there were no statistically significant differences between the MF-BIA vs. DXA. Overall, the change in percent body fat using the DXA vs. the MF-BIA was −1.3 ± 0.9 and −1.4 ± 1.8, respectively. Our data suggest that when tracking body composition over a period of four weeks, the MF-BIA may be a viable alternative to the DXA in exercise-trained men and women.

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