Body composition in adolescents: measurements and metabolic aspects

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:Adolescence is a decisive period in human life in which important body composition changes occur. Increase of total body mass and its relative distribution are mainly related to gender and pubertal development. OBJECTIVE: This review explores the specific measurements that may be used in this age group to assess excess body fat and to define obesity and overweight. RESULTS: Identification of subjects at risk for adiposity requires simple anthropometric cutoffs for the screening of overweight and obesity. In this context, BMI criterion is the most frequently used but, in spite of its high sensitivity and specificity, an important number of adolescents classified as overweight or obese do not have really high adiposity (32.1% of females and 42% of males). Excess total body fat and intra-abdominal visceral fat are related to metabolic abnormalities that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Waist circumference seems to be the best simple anthropometric predictor for the screening of the metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Early identification of adolescents at risk for adiposity and its related metabolic complications requires reliable, simple and specific measures of excess body fat for this age group.

Anthropometric body fat composition reference values in Spanish adolescents. The AVENA Study

“…For this purpose and because AVENA is a large epidemiological study, we used anthropometric measurements. Data on DXA measurements were obtained in the Zaragoza's cohort (Rodríguez et al, 2004). The studied sample is representative of the real situation in Spain, with a prevalence of overweight, including obesity, of 25.69% in boys and 19.13% in girls (Moreno et al, 2005).…”

“…In terms of body composition, it has been observed that, in each sex, annual increases in BMI were driven primarily by increases in fat free mass/ stature 2 until late adolescence, with increases in total body fat/stature 2 contributing to a larger proportion of the BMI increases in girls than in boys (Maynard et al, 2001). In a group of 280 adolescents from Zaragoza, we measured BF% by DXA (Rodríguez et al, 2004); obesity status was defined by IOTF cutoff values (Cole et al, 2000), and subjects were therefore classified into three groups: normal-weight, overweight and obese. The 85th percentile of the BF% distribution in each gender was considered as cutoff point for excess adiposity.…”

“…Adolescence is characterized by a global acceleration of growth and maturation, with differential changes between both sexes. The amount of fat mass in adolescent girls is usually higher than in boys (Rodríguez et al, 2004). Reliable measurements of body fatness are necessary in epidemiological, clinical and population studies, and in the management of nutrition related diseases during the adolescent period.…”

Growth: healthy status and active food model in pediatrics

“…6 Waist circumference seems to be the best simple anthropometric predictor for the screening of the metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents. 6,7 Recently Cole et al 8 compared the performance of different measures of body mass index (BMI) measured longitudinally in a group of kindergarten children over a 9-month period. This issue has implications for short-term studies targeting the prevention of weight gain in children at risk for obesity or the treatment of children that are already obese.…”

Impact of competitive foods in public schools on child nutrition: effects on adolescent obesity in the United States an integrative systematic literature review

“…BMI (weight (kg)/height (m2)) is accepted as the standard index for defining overweight and obesity due to the specificity and sensitivity it delivers [2]. It is projected that as the population becomes older, both public health and economic burdens from obesity will grow along with it [3].…”