Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025
Author Spotlight: Advancements in 3D Optical Imaging for Comprehensive Body Composition Assessment in Modern Research
Published on: June 7, 2024
Body composition in healthy singleton term infants using the three-dimensional photonic scanning method: A
Li Zhang1, Ting Zhang1, Hui-Juan Liu1
1Research Center for Child Health, Department of Child Health Care, Key Laboratory of Birth Regulation and Control Technology of National Health Commission of China, Shandong Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital Affiliated to Qingdao University, Jinan, China.
Insights
Infant body composition, including fat mass and fat-free mass, changes with age and differs between sexes. Boys tend to accumulate more fat mass than girls during infancy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Body Composition Analysis
- Growth and Development
Background:
- Body composition is crucial for assessing infant nutritional status and predicting future health.
- Three-dimensional photonic body surface scanning (3-DPS) offers a non-invasive, cost-effective method for pediatric body composition measurement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To illustrate infant body composition growth trajectories using 3-DPS.
- To analyze these trajectories by sex and age.
Main Methods:
- A multicenter cross-sectional study involving 8769 healthy term infants in Shandong Province, China.
- Body composition indicators including fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), FM percentage (FM%), FM index (FMI), and FFM index (FFMI) were measured using 3-DPS.
- Percentile curves were constructed using the generalized additive model for location, scale, and shape method.
Main Results:
- Fat mass and fat-free mass growth mirrored weight trajectories, with rapid increases from 1 to 3 months.
- Fat mass percentage, FM index, and FFMI increased until 6 months, then declined, similar to BMI trends.
- Boys generally exhibited higher FM and FM-related indicators than girls, suggesting sex-specific fat accumulation.
Conclusions:
- Infant body composition significantly varies with age.
- Sex differences in body composition during infancy are primarily related to fat mass accumulation, with boys showing higher levels.
Objectives:
Body composition is an integral part of the nutritional assessment during infancy as it is closely related to future health. The three-dimensional photonic body surface scanning (3-DPS) method is a promising new technique for measuring body composition in children because of its advantages of easy operation, low cost, and no exposure to radiation. Using 3-DPS, this study aimed to illustrate the growth trajectories of body composition indicators during infancy according to sex and age.
Methods:
This was a multicenter cross-sectional study. The body compositions of 9644 singleton term infants from four centers in Shandong Province, China, were assessed using 3-DPS. The data of 8769 healthy infants (52.0% boys), whose z scores of weight-for-length, length-for-age, and weight-for-age, according to World Health Organization standards, were in the range of -2 to 2, -3 to 3, and -3 to 3, respectively, were sampled to construct percentile curves of fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), FM percentage (FM%), FM index (FMI), and FFM index (FFMI) with the generalized additive model for location, scale, and shape method.
Results:
Percentile charts for FM, FFM, FM%, FMI, and FFMI were developed based on age and sex. FM and FFM presented consistent trajectories with that of weight, with the fastest growth occurring at 1 to 3 mo of age. FM%, FMI, and FFMI increased with age, peaked at 6 mo, and gradually declined, which was consistent with the body mass index trend. All indicators, except for FFMI, were always significantly higher in boys than in girls ages 1 to 12 mo, indicating that sex differences in body composition existed mainly in FM rather than in lean body mass.
Conclusions:
The body composition of healthy singleton term infants during infancy varies with age; boys may have more FM accumulation than girls.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Imaging Studies III: Computed Tomography
01:24Imaging Studies II: Ultrasonography