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Updated: May 3, 2026
Author Spotlight: Decellularization-Based Quantification of Skeletal Muscle Fatty Infiltration
Published on: June 9, 2023
Subcutaneous fat accumulation in early infancy is more strongly associated with motor development and delay than
1Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
Subcutaneous fat accumulation in early infancy, not muscle growth, is linked to better motor development in preterm infants. This finding highlights the importance of fat stores for motor skill acquisition.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Medicine
- Developmental Biology
- Neonatology
Background:
- Physical growth significantly influences motor development in neurologically healthy preterm infants.
- Understanding the distinct roles of muscle and fat in early development is crucial for optimizing outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the independent associations between infant muscle and fat accretion and subsequent motor development.
- To examine the relationship between body composition changes and physical growth in preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Ultrasound measurements of anterior thigh muscle and subcutaneous fat thickness were taken at multiple corrected ages (birth, 3, 6, 12, 18 months).
- Motor ability and delay were assessed at 18 months corrected age using the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory and Alberta Infant Motor Scale.
Main Results:
- Subcutaneous fat increments in the first 3 and 6 months correlated positively with motor ability (r=0.48, r=0.40; p<0.05).
- No significant correlation was found between muscle thickness growth and motor ability during any measured period.
- Early subcutaneous fat accumulation (first 3 months) acted as a protective factor against motor delay.
Conclusions:
- Subcutaneous fat accretion in early infancy demonstrates a stronger association with motor development compared to muscle growth.
- These findings suggest that early fat stores play a critical role in the motor development trajectory of preterm infants.
Aim:
Physical growth in neurologically healthy preterm infants affects motor development. This study investigated the separate relationships between muscle and fat in infancy and later motor development and physical growth.
Methods:
Muscle thickness and subcutaneous fat thickness of the anterior thigh were measured using ultrasound images obtained from neurologically healthy preterm infants at birth, 3, 6, 12 and 18 months' corrected age. We also obtained the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory and Alberta Infant Motor Scale scores at 18 months' corrected age to assess motor ability and motor delay.
Results:
Thirty preterm infants completed the study protocol. There was a significant positive correlation between motor ability and increments in subcutaneous fat thickness during the first 3 and 6 months' corrected age (r = 0.48 and 0.40, p < 0.05, respectively), but not between motor ability and muscle thickness growth in any of the periods. A secondary, logistic regression analysis showed that increments in subcutaneous fat thickness during the first 3 months were a protective factor for motor delay.
Conclusion:
Subcutaneous fat accumulation in early infancy is more strongly associated with motor development and delay than muscle growth.
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