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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Body shape and size in 6-year old children: assessment by three-dimensional photonic scanning
L P Santos1,2, K K Ong2, F Day2
1Postgraduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil.
Insights
Three-dimensional photonic scanning reveals novel childhood body shape and size components beyond traditional measures like BMI. These new metrics, including Corpulence and Central:peripheral ratio, show variations by sex, birth weight, and socioeconomic status, potentially impacting disease risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Anthropometry
- Body Composition Analysis
Background:
- Traditional measures like Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference predict adult disease risk but may not fully capture childhood body shape and size variability.
- Existing anthropometric methods may underestimate the complexity of body shape and size in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To utilize a comprehensive three-dimensional (3D) photonic scan approach to describe variations in childhood body shape and size.
- To identify novel components of body shape and size in children using advanced scanning technology.
Main Methods:
- A population-based cohort of 3350 children at age 6 years underwent 3D photonic scanning, traditional anthropometry, and dual X-ray absorptiometry.
- Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to height and 24 photonic scan variables (circumferences, lengths, widths, volumes, surface areas).
Main Results:
- PCA identified four independent components: Corpulence, Central:peripheral ratio, Height and arm lengths, and Shoulder diameter.
- Corpulence strongly correlated with traditional measures (r>0.90), while other components showed weaker correlations (r<0.45).
- Significant differences in these components were observed based on sex, birth weight, socioeconomic position (SEP), and skin color.
Conclusions:
- Comprehensive 3D photonic scanning identified key childhood body shape and size components missed by traditional methods.
- Novel body shape components exhibit variations across demographic factors (sex, birth weight, SEP, skin color).
- These findings suggest potential new avenues for assessing disease risks in children.
Background:
Body shape and size are typically described using measures such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, which predict disease risks in adults. However, this approach may underestimate the true variability in childhood body shape and size.
Objective:
To use a comprehensive three-dimensional photonic scan approach to describe variation in childhood body shape and size.
Subjects/Methods:
At age 6 years, 3350 children from the population-based 2004 Pelotas birth cohort study were assessed by three-dimensional photonic scanner, traditional anthropometry and dual X-ray absorptiometry. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on height and 24 photonic scan variables (circumferences, lengths/widths, volumes and surface areas).
Results:
PCA identified four independent components of children's body shape and size, which we termed: Corpulence, Central:peripheral ratio, Height and arm lengths, and Shoulder diameter. Corpulence showed strong correlations with traditional anthropometric and body composition measures (r>0.90 with weight, BMI, waist circumference and fat mass; r>0.70 with height, lean mass and bone mass); in contrast, the other three components showed weak or moderate correlations with those measures (all r<0.45). There was no sex difference in Corpulence, but boys had higher Central:peripheral ratio, Height and arm lengths and Shoulder diameter values than girls. Furthermore, children with low birth weight had lower Corpulence and Height and arm lengths but higher Central:peripheral ratio and Shoulder diameter than other children. Children from high socio-economic position (SEP) families had higher Corpulence and Height and arm lengths than other children. Finally, white children had higher Corpulence and Central:peripheral ratio than mixed or black children.
Conclusions:
Comprehensive assessment by three-dimensional photonic scanning identified components of childhood body shape and size not captured by traditional anthropometry or body composition measures. Differences in these novel components by sex, birth weight, SEP and skin colour may indicate their potential relevance to disease risks.
