Variation in subcutaneous adipose tissue distribution associated with age, sex, and maturation

Age-, sex-, and maturity-associated variation in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) distribution is reviewed and then considered longitudinally in a sample of Polish youth. Current study of adipose tissue distribution places considerable emphasis on abdominal adiposity, specifically intra-abdominal or visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Most studies of children and adolescents do not include an abdominal skinfold, and when it is available, the skinfold is grouped with others as a sum of skinfolds. Correlations between abdominal VAT and SAT based on computerized tomography in non-obese children are moderate to high, and those between the suprailiac and abdominal skinfolds and abdominal VAT are moderately high. Changes in three individual skinfolds (triceps, subscapular, abdominal) and ratios of the skinfolds were considered by chronological age and relative to the timing of peak height velocity (PHV), and in children of contrasting maturity status in participants of the Wroclaw Growth Study, 193 boys and 197 girls, who were followed longitudinally from 8 to 18 years of age. Individual skinfolds behave differently during childhood and adolescence, and the changes are influenced by the timing of the adolescent growth spurt. Sex differences in estimated velocities are negligible up to about 2 years before PHV; then velocities tend to be higher in girls. The velocity of the triceps skinfold is negative in boys just before and after PHV; estimated velocities for the trunk skinfolds are positive through the growth spurt in both sexes, and are somewhat greater after PHV, especially in girls. The individuality of changes in individual skinfolds during the adolescent spurt contributes to changes in the relative distribution of SAT at this time. The timing of the adolescent growth spurt is an important factor influencing the distribution of SAT both in the total sample and in youth classified as early and late maturing. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 11:189-200, 1999. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.