The distribution of body fat from childhood to adulthood in a longitudinal study population

Abstract

Body fat distribution, its continuity from childhood (4-6 years) to 30 years of age, and its link to that of parents is described in a longitudinal study population. A computer-assisted image analysis technique was used to measure body fat distribution (as measured by waist and hip diameters) from somatotype photographs. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to assess the association between the waist/hip diameter ratio (WHDR) and the body mass index (BMI) at all ages and between the WHDR of parents and offspring. Both Pearson correlation coefficients and the Foulkes-Davis tracking index were used to assess tracking of the WHDR from childhood to age 30 years. Stepwise regression analyses were performed to determine the predictability of the WHDR at age 30 years from WHDRs in childhood and adolescence. Among both sexes the WHDR decreased and BMIs increased with age from childhood to 18 years, then both increased from age 18 to 30 years. The correlation between the WHDR and BMI was significant only at 30 years for males (r = 0.37; p < 0.05) and during all stages of adolescence in females (p < 0.05). Age-to-age correlations were high for both sexes (p < 0.0001), and remained significant over a span of up to 25 years. Using the Foulkes-Davis tracking index, tracking from the year of peak height velocity to 30 years (a span of approximately 20 years) was strong for both sexes. Parent and child WHDRs were correlated and differed by sex. Father-son correlations were not significant in childhood, but reached significance in early adolescence (2 years before the year of peak velocity) and remained significant to 30 years (p < 0.05). Mother-daughter correlations were significant at all ages (p < 0.05). The level of the WHDR at the peak of the pubertal growth spurt (year of peak height velocity) predicted up to 58% of the variance in males and 51% of the variance in females of the WHDR at 30 years. We conclude that the adult WHDR (a proxy for the waist/hip ratio) becomes evident by the year of the pubertal growth spurt in height.

Comparison of body fatness measurements by BMI and skinfolds vs dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and their relation to cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents

“…[5][6][7][8][9] Skinfold thickness also is utilized to estimate body fatness, and a number of prediction equations incorporating different skinfold measurements have been developed. [10][11][12][13] The equations devised by Slaughter et al 14 are widely used to estimate percent body fat (%BF), fat body mass (FBM) and lean body mass (LBM), because they require only two anthropometric measures (eg, triceps and subscapular skinfolds) and take into account gender, ethnicity and pubertal status. The methodology of skinfold measurement is relatively simple, utilizing special calipers to estimate subcutaneous fat thickness.…”

Review: Measurement and long-term health risks of child and adolescent fatness

“…Therefore, the prevention of adult obesity cannot rely on the identi®cation and treatment of a high risk group in childhood and adolescence. The major shortcomings of the available studies are that few studies have followed up subjects from childhood to age 50 or more, 9,46 and the majority of studies have taken frequent measurements on a small and increasingly selected sample. 24 (we are grateful to the BMJ publishing group for permission to reproduce these graphs).…”

“…Diameters are sometimes used instead of circumferences when somatotype photographs are available, 9 or when measurement with an anthropometer is felt to be more convenient than with a tape. In terms of acceptability, photographs are likely to be less acceptable than anthropometer or tape.…”

Frequency of obesity and related risk factors among school children and adolescents in a low-income community. A cross-sectional study

“…21 Abdominal obesity was diagnosed when the circumference was greater than or equal to the 90 th percentile. 22 Measurements of blood pressure were adjusted for age, height and gender and were made with the subject in a seated position after a five-minute rest.…”