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07 Validity of body fat percentage using skinfold measurements in 12–14-year-old Chinese boys and girls
Y. Li, G. Ma, Q. Zhang, W. Du and H. Pan
08 The prediction of total body water using foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance in children
R.A. Abbott, K.A. Edmiston, A. Grayson and P.S.W. Davies
09 Validation of leg-to-leg impedance for body composition assessment in male Brazilians aged 16–19 years
J.C.K. Wells, D. Gigante, A. Wright, P.C. Hallal and C.G. Victora
10 Body composition is differently associated with puberty onset in girls and boys
Sylvia Kirchengast
11 Ratio of soft-tissue mineral to total-body water: a stable body composition ratio
Robert C. Lee, Lisa Marie Ramirez, Lucian Wielopolski, Steven B. Heymsfield and ZiMian Wang
12 A simple questionnaire to assess alterations in body appearance in HIV-infected patients
Judith C. Shlay MD, MSPH, Wafaa M. El-Sadr MD, MPH, Glenn Bartsch ScD, J Wang, MackS, Cynthia
Gibert MD, Andrew Carr MD, and Sai Subhasree Raghavan, PhD
International Journal of Body Composition Research 2003 Vol. 1 No. 2: 53-58
Y. Li, G. Ma, Q. Zhang, W. Du and H. Pan
Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
Four hundred and two healthy Chinese adolescents (154 boys, 248 girls; 12–14 yr; body mass index 14.1–36.6 kg/m2) living in Beijing participated in a body composition study. Body fat percentage (%BF), measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) served as criterion method. Anthropometric measurements (weight, height, triceps and subscapular thickness) were taken in the fasting state in morning. Predicted %BF was obtained from various anthropometric equations: Changling (combined with Brozek’s equation), Yuan and Slaughter et al. %BF (mean ± SD) measured by DXA (%BFDXA) was 20.1 ± 8.3% and 30.0 ± 5.8% in boys and girls respectively, and was significantly correlated with %BF estimated by various anthropometric equations with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.65 to 0.87. A significant underestimation was found for all three anthropometry equations as compared to %BFDXA. The biases between %BFDXA and various anthropometry equations were: –2.8 ± 4.3% for boys and –7.6 ± 4.4% for girls for the Chang Ling equation, –2.4 ± 4.4% for boys and –7.8 ± 4.5% for girls for the Yuan equation and –3.4 ± 4.8% for boys and –6.5 ± 4.1% for girls for the Slaughter equations. No significant difference was found between biases of different anthropometric equations in boys, but in girls the bias of the Slaughter equation was significantly lower than the bias of the Chang Ling and the Yuan equations. Biases from Chang Ling and Yuan were negatively correlated with %BFDXA in boys, whereas in girls the biases from Yuan and Slaughter were negatively correlated with %BFDXA. It is concluded that existing prediction equations based on skinfolds generally underestimate body fat percent, and that the bias is, especially in girls, unacceptably high.
International Journal of Body Composition Research 2003 Vol. 1 No. 2: 59-62
R.A. Abbott1,2, K.A. Edmiston3, A. Grayson1 and P.S.W. Davies3
1School of Human Movement Studies, Queensland University of Technology; 2School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland; 3Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Prediction of body composition via bioelectrical impedance is a simple, rapid and non-invasive method and as such can be useful in children. Most commercially-available equipment has built-in algorithms for prediction of total body water (TBW), in the first instance, from measured impedance and anthropometric variables. It is important that these algorithms be validated before the method is accepted for routine use. The aim of this study was therefore twofold, firstly to compare predicted TBW from foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance with TBW measured using deuterium oxide dilution technique and secondly to develop a regression equation that would allow the predication of TBW from measurements of bioelectrical impedance and height. A total of 73 apparently-healthy children aged 5 to 16 years took part in the study. There was a mean bias of 2.0 litres of water between measured and predicted TBW with the foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance method over estimating TBW. TBW could be predicted from measurements of bioelectrical impedance (I) and height (H) using the equation TBW = –0.63 +0.61 H2/I. This prediction equation might allow more accurate estimates of body composition to be made in children using foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance.
International Journal of Body Composition Research 2003, Vol. 1 No. 2: 63-67
J.C.K. Wells1, D. Gigante2, A. Wright3, P.C. Hallal2 and C.G. Victora2
1MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Child Health, London; 2Post-Graduate Program in
Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil; 3MRC Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, UK.
Leg-to-leg impedance (Tanita) is potentially useful for assessing body composition in large epidemiological studies. The manufacturer’s algorithms that predict body composition values were derived in European or American populations, however, and may not be applicable in other populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Tanita TBF-305 body composition analyser in young Brazilian males using total body water (TBW) as the reference method. Measurements of anthropometry, impedance and TBW were undertaken in 48 males aged 16–19 years in Pelotas, Brazil. TBW was predicted using the manufacturers’ algorithms, and calculated from deuterium dilution. Agreement between methods was assessed using the Bland and Altman method. The mean bias (SD) between methods was 0.7 (3.4) litres for TBW, 0.8 (4.5) kg for fat-free mass, –0.8 (4.5) kg for fat mass and –1.7 (6.6) % for % fat (P>0.05 in all cases). There was a significant correlation (r = 0.56, P<0.0001) between the magnitude of TBW and the bias, indicating that Tanita overestimated TBW in those with lower TBW values. New algorithms were derived, predicting TBW from various combinations of data on weight, height and impedance. Weight and height alone predicted TBW with a standard error of the estimate (SEE) of 3.1 litres. The best predictive equation that included impedance had an SEE of 3.2 litres. We conclude that Tanita algorithms developed in European/American populations are not appropriate for young male Brazilians. New equations were derived in the present study, but proved no better at predicting TBW than data on weight and height alone. This study emphasises the need for validating predictive methods for application in epidemiological surveys.
International Journal of Body Composition Research 2003 Vol. 1 No. 2: 69-75
Sylvia Kirchengast
Institute for Anthropology, University of Vienna, Austria.
Body composition varies characteristically between the two sexes. During puberty this sexual dimorphism gains in importance. Furthermore body composition is strongly associated with the onset of female puberty. The aim of the present study was to analyze the association pattern between body composition and pubertal onset as well as pubertal status in girls and boys. In total 228 girls and 191 boys ranging in age between 11 and 14 years were enrolled in the present study. Body composition was estimated by BIA method, using a TBF 305 body composition analyzer. Furthermore height, waist and hip girth were measured. Body mass index (BMI) and the waist to hip ratio (WHR) were calculated. Age at menarche and age at voice breaking were determined. Apart from marked sex differences in body composition significant differences within the two sexes according to pubertal status could be documented. In females, puberty was associated with an increased weight status and a higher amount of body fat, while in males puberty was associated with increased height and increased fat-free body mass. A higher weight status was associated with an earlier onset of puberty in girls, but with a later onset of puberty in boys. Body composition shows not only a significant sexual dimorphism during puberty but also a different impact on puberty onset.
International Journal of Body Composition Research 2003, Vol. 1 No. 2: 77-80
Robert C. Lee1, Lisa Marie Ramirez2, Lucian Wielopolski2, Steven B. Heymsfield1 and ZiMian Wang1
1Obesity Research Center, St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York; 2Brookhaven National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences and Medical Departments,
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, USA
Although soft-tissue minerals (Ms) are widely distributed within intracellular and extracellular fluids, accurate methods for estimating Ms are still limited. The aim of this study was to explore the potential existence of a constant relationship between Ms and total-body water (TBW). Based on the known ion 4 concentrations of intracellular and extracellular fluids, a theoretical model was derived that suggests the presence of a relatively stable ratio of Ms to TBW. Four elements (K, Na, Cl, and Ca) were measured in 356 adult subjects by using whole-body counting in-vivo neutron activation analysis, and TBW was estimated by isotope dilution. Ms was significantly correlated with TBW and the ratio of Ms to TBW was relatively constant at (mean ± SD) 0.0129 ± 0.0008 kg/kg with a CV of 6.1%. This constant relationship between Ms and TBW provides a new body composition rule and may be helpful for improving multi-component total-body fat models.
International Journal of Body Composition Research 2003, Vol. 1 No. 2: 81-90
Judith C. Shlay MD, MSPH,1 Wafaa M. El-Sadr MD, MPH,2 Glenn Bartsch ScD,3 Jack Wang, MS,4 Cynthia Gibert MD,5 Andrew Carr MD,6 and Sai Subhasree Raghavan, PhD2, for the Terry Beirn Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS (CPCRA). From the 1Denver Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, USA; 2Harlem Hospital, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA; 3CPCRA Statistical Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; 4Body Composition Unit of St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA; 5Washington Regional AIDS Program, Washington DC, USA; 6St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
This questionnaire was developed in order to assess perception of any changes in body appearance and to determine its potential use in a large diverse cohort of antiretroviral naïve HIV-infected patients. For this study, HIV-infected patients (n=227) enrolling into a metabolic study completed a ten-item questionnaire on alterations in body appearance and had body mass index (BMI) and anthropometric measurements performed. The questionnaire assessed subjective changes in body appearance over the past four months (thinning, no change, increase in size). Concordance of survey results with mean body circumference (arm, waist, hip, thigh), mean skinfold thickness (triceps, suprascapular, subscapular, abdomen, thigh) and the BMI were evaluated. At baseline, over a third of participants reported no changes for all six sites (ie, face, arms, breast, waist, buttocks, thighs); however, of those reporting any changes for all six sites, thinning was more common (7.9%) than was an increase in size (0.4%). For the body circumference, perceived changes of face, breast, waist, buttocks, and thighs were positively correlated with the mean values for all measured body circumferences (P≤0.05); perceived changes of arms were positively correlated with all measurements except waist (P=0.18). For the skinfolds, changes in face, buttocks, waist and thighs were positively correlated with all five skinfold thickness measurements (P<0.05); arms and breast were positively correlated with all measurements except suprascapular (arms: P=0.06), abdomen (arms: P=0.13, breast: P=0.12) and triceps (breast: P=0.21). For face, arms, waist, buttocks and thighs, self-reported body perception was correlated with mean BMI (P<0.05). In conclusion, responses from the survey correlated well with body circumference and skinfold measurements, supporting the potential use of this simple questionnaire in antiretroviral naive adults.
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