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Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
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Growth and body composition trajectories in infants meeting the WHO growth standards study requirements

Efrah I Yousuf1,2, Niels Rochow1,3,4, Jenifer Li5,6

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

Pediatric Research
|March 17, 2022
PubMed

Insights

This study provides infant body composition data aligned with World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards. Body mass index (BMI) z-score is identified as the most reliable indicator of infant adiposity.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Infant Growth and Development
  • Body Composition Analysis

Background:

  • Limited body composition data exists for infants meeting World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards.
  • This study addresses the gap by analyzing growth and body composition in eligible infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To establish infant body composition trajectories using WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study (MGRS) criteria.
  • To identify the best anthropometric measure for assessing infant adiposity.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal cohort study measuring anthropometry and body composition via air displacement plethysmography (ADP).
  • Generated age- and sex-specific percentiles using Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS).
  • Evaluated relationships between BMI, weight-for-length, mid-upper arm circumference, and adiposity.

Main Results:

  • 187 infants met WHO MGRS criteria, showing length and weight comparable to WHO curves.
  • Developed trajectory curves for fat mass and fat-free mass.
  • BMI z-score demonstrated the strongest correlation with fat mass index z-score.

Conclusions:

  • Presents novel body composition trajectories for infants adhering to WHO growth standards.
  • Recommends BMI z-score as the optimal anthropometric metric for estimating infant adiposity.
Abstract

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