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Trends in body composition for infants and children in the U.S
1National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
Insights
Trends in U.S. children's body composition are difficult to track accurately due to limitations in national health surveys. Methodological differences across surveys complicate obesity trend analysis.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Anthropometry
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- National health examination surveys provide anthropometric data for U.S. children and adolescents.
- These measurements offer crude indicators of body mass but not detailed body composition.
- Accurate trend analysis of childhood obesity is challenged by data limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate trends in body composition indicators among U.S. children and adolescents.
- To discuss limitations in anthropometric data from sequential national surveys.
- To present comparative body measures from 1963-1980.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of anthropometric measurements from U.S. national health examination surveys (1963-1980).
- Comparison of body measures across different survey periods.
- Discussion of factors influencing trend interpretation, including cutpoint selection and measurement error.
Main Results:
- Apparent differences in body measures were observed between 1963 and 1980.
- Methodological variations across surveys may influence observed trends.
- Inferences on body composition trends require cautious interpretation.
Conclusions:
- Interpreting trends in childhood body composition from historical anthropometric data is complex.
- Methodological consistency is crucial for accurate longitudinal analysis.
- Further research should address limitations in survey data for robust trend assessment.
Abstract:
Nationally representative health examination surveys have collected anthropometric measurements on children and adolescents in the U.S. These data may serve as very crude indicators of total fat or fat-free body mass, but do not yield information on body composition per se. Attempts to accurately describe trends in obesity for children and adolescents have been complicated by a number of limitations associated with body measurements taken over time in sequential surveys. Inferences from limited anthropometric measures should be made cautiously. Factors to consider include the selection of cutpoints for trend analysis, changes that may be within range of technical measurement error, and use of data at extreme percentiles. Ostensible trends may be genuine, but they may also be influenced by methodological differences across surveys. Comparative data are presented for selected body measures from 1963 to 1980 for U.S. children and adolescents sampled in national health examination surveys, and apparent differences are discussed.