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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Body composition assessment for development of an international growth standard for preadolescent and adolescent

Timothy G Lohman1, Scott B Going

  • 1Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA. lohman@u.arizona.edu

Food and Nutrition Bulletin
|March 17, 2007
PubMed

Insights

This study recommends specific body composition assessment methods for children and youths, including waist circumference, skinfolds, and DXA, to improve growth standard accuracy.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric endocrinology and growth assessment.
  • Anthropometry and body composition analysis.

Background:

  • Accurate body composition assessment is crucial for monitoring child and youth growth.
  • Existing methods may have limitations in diverse pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To recommend optimal body composition assessment methods for the International Growth Standard for Preadolescent and Adolescent Children Project.
  • To propose an improved approach for identifying and assessing underweight and overweight participants.

Main Methods:

  • Review of general considerations for pediatric body composition assessment.
  • Evaluation of various anthropometric and densitometric techniques.
  • Recommendation of waist circumference, skinfolds, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

Main Results:

  • Exclusion of participants with extreme underweight or overweight is advised.
  • DXA is recommended for measuring fat, lean mass, and bone mineral density.
  • Fat mass index and fat-free mass index are proposed as superior alternatives to body-mass index.

Conclusions:

  • Selected anthropometric and DXA measurements provide a comprehensive assessment of pediatric body composition.
  • The proposed indices offer enhanced accuracy for evaluating growth and nutritional status in children and adolescents.
  • Standardized methods are essential for reliable international growth standards.

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