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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Pediatric obesity phenotyping by magnetic resonance methods
Wei Shen1, Haiying Liu, Mark Punyanitya
1New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, Institute of Human Nutrition, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025, USA. ws2003@columbia.edu
Insights
Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy offer safe, non-invasive methods for measuring childhood obesity. These techniques accurately assess adiposity and metabolic health, aiding research and treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Medical Imaging
- Body Composition Analysis
Background:
- Accurate assessment of adiposity is crucial for understanding pediatric obesity, its severity, and treatment outcomes.
- Non-invasive methods are needed for characterizing obesity phenotypes and metabolic disturbances in children.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy present a promising approach for in vivo analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in non-invasive MRI and spectroscopy for pediatric obesity research.
- To focus on methods for quantifying adiposity, mapping fat distribution, and evaluating metabolic issues.
- To provide an overview of MRI/MRS techniques for investigators studying pediatric body composition and metabolism.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing whole-body axial MRI for rapid image acquisition on clinical scanners.
- Employing semi-automated segmentation to differentiate subcutaneous, visceral, and intramuscular adipose tissue.
- Applying spectroscopic and Dixon techniques to quantify lipid content in organs like the liver and skeletal muscle.
Main Results:
- MRI enables rapid, semi-automated quantification of total and regional adiposity in children.
- Technological advances now permit feasible scan acquisition in infants, including premature infants.
- New methods reduce the need for prolonged subject immobility, improving data acquisition.
Conclusions:
- MRI and spectroscopy are safe, practical, and accessible tools for phenotyping childhood adiposity.
- These magnetic resonance techniques offer new avenues for pediatric metabolism and nutritional research.
- The methods facilitate a deeper understanding of body composition and its metabolic implications in obese children.
Purpose Of Review:
Accurate measurement of adiposity in obese children is required for characterizing the condition's phenotype, severity, and treatment effects in vivo. Non-invasive and safe, magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy provide an important new approach for characterizing key aspects of pediatric obesity. This review focuses on recent advances in non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy for quantifying total body and regional adiposity, mapping adipose tissue distribution, and evaluating selected metabolic disturbances in children. The aim is to provide an investigator-focused overview of magnetic resonance methods for use in the study of pediatric body composition and metabolism.
Recent Findings:
Whole body axial images can be rapidly acquired on most clinical magnetic resonance imaging scanners. The images can then be semi-automatically segmented into subcutaneous, visceral, and intramuscular adipose tissue. Specific pediatric studies of errors related to slice gap and number are available. The acquisition of scans in healthy and premature infants is now feasible with recent technological advances. Spectroscopic, Dixon, and other approaches can be used to quantify the lipid content of liver, skeletal muscle, and other organs. Protocol selection is based on factors such as subject age and cost. Particular attention should be directed towards identification of landmarks in growth studies. Recent advances promise to reduce the requirement of subjects to remain motionless for relatively long periods.
Summary:
Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy are safe, practical, and widely available methods for phenotyping adiposity in children that open new opportunities for metabolism and nutritional research.
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