Body-composition assessment in infancy: air-displacement plethysmography compared with a reference 4-compartment model

Abstract

Background: A better understanding of the associations of early infant nutrition and growth with adult health requires accurate assessment of body composition in infancy. Objective: This study evaluated the performance of an infant-sized air-displacement plethysmograph (PEA POD Infant Body Composition System) for the measurement of body composition in infants. Design: Healthy infants (n ҃ 49; age: 1.7-23.0 wk; weight: 2.7-7.1 kg) were examined with the PEA POD system. Reference values for percentage body fat (%BF) were obtained from a 4-compartment (4-C) body-composition model, which was based on measurements of total body water, bone mineral content, and total body potassium. Results: Mean (ȀSD) reproducibility of %BF values obtained with the PEA POD system was 0.4 Ȁ 1.3%. Mean %BF obtained with the PEA POD system (16.9 Ȁ 6.5%) did not differ significantly from that obtained with the 4-C model (16.3 Ȁ 7.2%), and the regression between %BF for the 4-C model and that for the PEA POD system (R 2 ҃ 0.73, SEE ҃ 3.7%BF) did not deviate significantly from the line of identity (y ϭ x). Conclusions: The PEA POD system provided a reliable, accurate, and immediate assessment of %BF in infants. Because of its ease of use, good precision, minimum safety concerns, and bedside accessibility, the PEA POD system is highly suitable for monitoring changes in body composition during infant growth in both the research and clinical settings.Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:90 -5.

QMR: validation of an infant and children body composition instrument using piglets against chemical analysis

“…The infant size instrument (PeaPod, weight limit of 8 kg) has been validated in several studies. 5,4,[38][39][40] The procedure is easy, quick and results in excellent body fat measurement precision. …”

“…3 Although there are two main technologies commercially available: air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA); both have major drawbacks. ADP has been validated in infants up to 8 kg with the PeaPod [4][5][6] and in children 45 years of age with the BodPod, [7][8][9][10] but not in infants and children between 6 months and 5 years, which constitute a major gap in measuring early childhood body composition. DXA has been validated and used in all age ranges to estimate body fat and fat-free mass (FFM).…”

Postnatal catch-up fat after late preterm birth

“…A detailed description of the PEA POD's physical design, operating principles, validation, and measurement procedures is provided elsewhere (21,22). Briefly, the PEA POD assesses fat mass and "FFM" by direct measurements of body mass and volume and the application of a classic densitometric model in which percentage of body fat is calculated using body density and predetermined fat and FFM density values.…”

Assessment methods of body composition

“…Velika pouzdanost i tačnost ove metode u određivanju %BF kod odojčadi je značajna u praćenju promena u njihovom telesnom sastavu tokom rasta i razvoja, a koristi se kako u istraživačke, tako i u kliničke svrhe [33].…”