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Updated: Jul 5, 2026
Clinical Anthropometrics and Body Composition from 3-Dimensional Optical Imaging
Published on: June 7, 2024
Body mass index and body composition in relation to sexual maturation
Silvia Diez Castilho1, Monize Cocetti, Antonio de Azevedo Barros Filho
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Católica de Campinas, SP, Brazil. sdiezcast@puc-campinas.edu.br
Aim:
To assess body mass index. (BMI) in relation to sexual maturation and verify how fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) contribute to its increase.
Methods:
1,275 White adolescents (656 girls and 619 boys), aged 9 to 18 years, were evaluated according to Tanner stages. FFM and FM were calculated by triceps and subscapular skinfold measurements and leg-to-leg bioelectrical impedance. BMI-for-maturation was distributed into percentiles. Fat-free mass index (FFMI) and body fat mass index (BFMI) were calculated based on BMI 50t" ph percentile values.
Results:
During maturation, as BMI increases, girls gain FFMI (13.3 kg/m2 at B1 and 15.8 kg/m2 at B5) and BFMI (3.7 kg/m2 at B1 and 5.7 kg/m2 at B5)--proportionally more fat-- while boys gain FFMI (14.3 kg/m2 at G1 and 17.9 kg/m2 at G5) and lose BFMI (4.8 kg/m2 at G1 and 3.2 kg/m2 at G5).
Conclusion:
These data suggest that FFMI and BFMI-for-maturation should be assessed in adolescents monitored for overweight and obesity.
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