Monitoring growth and body composition in children with 3-dimensional optical imaging: a pilot observational study

Area of Science:

• Pediatric health
• Biomedical imaging
• Body composition analysis

Background:

• Rising nutritional disturbances in US children and adolescents necessitate accurate body composition assessment.
• Current guidelines recommend tracking fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) changes post-intervention.
• Three-dimensional optical (3DO) imaging's longitudinal accuracy in children is unstudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of 3DO imaging in monitoring longitudinal changes in body composition.
• To compare 3DO body composition measurements with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in children and adolescents.

Main Methods:

• A subsample of 26 children/adolescents underwent baseline and follow-up (≥1 year) DXA and 3DO scans.
• 3DO data were processed using shape modeling and published equations to estimate body composition.
• Linear regression and RMSE quantified agreement and error between 3DO and DXA for body composition changes.

Main Results:

• High agreement (R²: 0.77-0.82) and low error (RMSE: 0.78-2.79 kg) were observed between 3DO and DXA for changes in FM, FFM, and appendicular lean mass.
• 75-80% of significant body composition changes detected by DXA were also identified by 3DO.
• Mean follow-up was 1.6 years in participants aged 10.2 ± 3.2 years.

Conclusions:

• 3DO imaging demonstrates capability in monitoring body composition changes over time in pediatric populations.
• The accuracy, safety, and accessibility of 3DO support its use for risk screening.
• 3DO offers a viable tool for longitudinal body composition assessment in children and adolescents.