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Determinants of body composition in breastfed infants using bioimpedance spectroscopy and ultrasound
Zoya Gridneva1, Anna R Hepworth1, Leigh C Ward2
1School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Insights
Accurate infant body composition measurement is crucial. Both ultrasound (US) and bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) are practical for predicting infant fat mass, though BIS requires validated age-matched equations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Body Composition Analysis
- Infant Health
Background:
- Accurate, noninvasive, and inexpensive methods are needed for infant body composition.
- Ultrasound (US) and bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) are emerging techniques for pediatric use.
- This study evaluates US and BIS for determining fat mass in breastfed infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the performance of ultrasound (US) and bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) in measuring infant body fat percentage (%FM).
- To compare %FM measurements obtained by US and BIS against established reference models.
- To determine the practicality and accuracy of US and BIS for infant body composition analysis.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated %FM in 58 healthy, breastfed infants aged 2, 5, 9, and 12 months.
- Calculated %FM using BIS-derived total body water equations and skinfold equations.
- Measured skinfolds using US at two or four sites (biceps, suprailiac, triceps, subscapular).
Main Results:
- %FM varied significantly within and between methods, influenced by infant age and sex.
- No single method or equation consistently matched reference values across all age/sex groups.
- Ultrasound (US) skinfold-based equations showed a high number of matches with reference values.
- %FM values from US and BIS were not significantly different (P = 0.35).
Conclusions:
- Both bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) and ultrasound (US) are practical tools for estimating infant fat mass.
- Accurate BIS measurements depend on using validated, age-matched equations.
- Further research may refine these methods for precise infant body composition assessment.
Background:
Accurate, noninvasive, and inexpensive methods are required to measure infant body composition. Ultrasound (US) and bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) have been validated in adults and introduced in pediatric populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of both methods in determining percentage fat mass (%FM) in breastfed infants.
Methods:
%FM of 2, 5, 9, and 12 mo-old healthy, breastfed term infants (n = 58) was calculated using BIS-derived total body water equations and skinfold equations then compared with reference models. Skinfolds were measured with US at two and four sites (biceps, suprailiac and/or triceps, and subscapular).
Results:
%FM differed widely within and between methods, with the degree of variation affected by infant age/sex. Not a single method/equation was consistent with the distributions of appropriate reference values for all age/sex groups. Moderate number of matches with references values (13-24 out of 36) was seen for both types of equations. High number of matches (25-36) was seen for US skinfold-based equations. %FM values calculated from US and BIS were not significantly different (P = 0.35).
Conclusion:
Both BIS and US are practical for predicting %FM in infants. BIS calculations are highly dependent upon an appropriate set of validated age-matched equations.
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