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[Reference values of body fat indices in Chinese children aged 6-9 years old in Guangzhou]
Yuanhuan Wei1, Zheqing Zhang1, Jue Wang1
1Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Insights
This study established normal body fat reference ranges for children aged 6-9 in Guangzhou, aiding in the surveillance of abnormal fat accumulation. The findings provide crucial data for pediatric health assessments and early intervention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Body Composition Analysis
- Public Health Surveillance
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing global concern, necessitating accurate methods for assessing body fat distribution.
- Establishing normative data is crucial for identifying deviations from healthy body composition in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine normal reference values for total and segmental body fat in Guangzhou children aged 6-9 years.
- To provide a basis for monitoring abnormal fat accumulation in this age group.
- To support early detection and intervention for childhood obesity.
Main Methods:
- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure body composition in 456 children (aged 6-9) in Guangzhou.
- LMS regression analysis generated age- and gender-specific percentile curves for various body fat indices.
- Reference ranges were defined using the 5th to 85th, 85th, and 95th centiles to classify 'normal', 'overfat', and 'obese' statuses.
Main Results:
- Total body fat mass (TBFM) and percentage of total body fat (% TBF) significantly increased with age in both boys and girls.
- Provided detailed reference ranges for TBFM and % TBF for boys and girls across different age groups.
- Presented android/gynoid ratio reference values, showing variations between genders and age groups.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully established normal reference ranges for body fat distribution in Guangzhou children aged 6-9.
- These reference values are essential tools for assessing body fat status and surveillance of abnormal fat accumulation.
- The findings contribute valuable data for pediatric health monitoring and obesity prevention initiatives in the region.
Objective:
To establish normal reference values of total and segmental body fat distribution of children aged 6-9 years old in Guangzhou, which can be used for abnormal fat accumulation surveillance.
Methods:
A total of 456 children aged 6-9 years old were enrolled between December, 2015 to March, 2017 in Guangzhou, China. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry( DXA). The LMS regression method was used to construct age-and gender-specific smooth percentile curves of total body fat mass( TBFM), percentage of total body fat( % TBF), android fat mass, gynoid fat mass, appendicular fat mass( AFM), percentage android fat, percentage gynoid fat, percentage appendicular fat mass( % AFM) and android/gynoid ratio. The 5th to 85th, 85th and 95th centiles of body fat indexes were applied to define "normal", "overfat", and "obese"status.
Results:
Linear trend test showed that except for total body fat percentage( % TBF) in girls, total body fat mass( TBFM), segmental body fat mass and % TBF increased significantly with age in both genders. The reference values of TBFM for boys in each age group were 3. 87-6. 04, 3. 72-7. 74, 3. 82-9. 85, 4. 30-13. 35 kg, respectively, and for girls were 3. 86-7. 76, 3. 97-8. 50, 4. 23-9. 46, 4. 78-10. 74 kg, respectively. The corresponding values for the % TBF were 20. 07%-28. 84%, 18. 50%-30. 32%, 17. 93%-31. 97%, 18. 10%-34. 81% in boys, and20. 91%-34. 14%, 20. 64%-34. 60%, 20. 18%-33. 99%, 20. 28%-34. 40% in girls, respectively. In terms of android/gynoid ratio, the values were 0. 62-0. 78, 0. 58-0. 83, 0. 58-0. 88, 0. 57-0. 93 for boys, and 0. 50-0. 76, 0. 54-0. 81, 0. 57-0. 85, 0. 50-0. 82 for girls, respectively.
Conclusion:
The data provided normal reference range for assessing body fat distribution in children aged 6-9 years in Guangzhou, China.
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