Body fat distribution reference standards in Spanish adolescents: the AVENA Study

Abstract

Objective: To present body fat patterning reference standards to identify children with a predominant distribution of body fat in the abdominal or truncal region of the body. Design: Cross-sectional study in a representative sample of Spanish adolescents aged 13-18 years. Subjects: A total of 2160 adolescents with a complete set of anthropometric measurements (1109 males and 1051 females). Measurements: Weight, height, body mass index, skinfold thickness (biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, thigh, calf) and waist and hip circumferences. Results: In the majority of the age groups, subscapular/triceps skinfolds ratio, trunk-to-total skinfolds percent (TTS%)and waist circumference values were significantly higher in males than in females; hip circumference was higher in females than in males, except at 15.5 years. In males, age showed a significant effect for all the body fat distribution indices; however, in females, the effect was only significant for triceps skinfold, waist and hip circumferences and waist-to-hip ratio. Smoothed age-and sexspecific triceps skinfold, subscapular skinfold, subscapular/triceps skinfolds ratio, TTS%, waist circumference and hip circumference, waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratio percentile values for male and female adolescents have been established. Conclusion: These reference data for waist circumference and the other fat patterning indices, together with data from other countries, will help to establish international central obesity criteria for adolescents. The presented percentile values will give the possibility to estimate the proportion of adolescents with high or low regional adiposity amounts.

Tracking and determinants of subcutaneous fat mass in early childhood: the Generation R Study

“…In adolescents, aged 13-18 years, it was also shown that SFT is independent of age. 27 Moreover, a previous study in India suggested that SFT in adults tends to decrease with older age. 28 Our and these previous studies suggest that SFT may be a rather stable measure of fat mass from infancy to young adulthood.…”

Food consumption, physical activity and socio-economic status related to BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio in adolescents

“…A non-elastic flexible tape measure was used, with participants standing erect -arms by sides, feet together and abdomen relaxed -as well as without clothing covering the waist area. Participants were divided into two categories, ,90th percentile (,P90) and $90th percentile ($P90), according to ageand sex-specific cut-off points specified by Moreno et al (19) . Participants who had WC $ P90 were considered to have abdominal obesity (20) .…”

Circunferência da cintura como indicador de gordura corporal e alterações metabólicas em adolescentes: comparação entre quatro referências

“…[11][12][13][14]16 We used the mean value of both measurements. The assessment of body composition was performed using a tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance device (Biodynamics model 310) according to a specific protocol recommended for this type of evaluation.…”

“…McCarthy et al 13 assessed the waist circumference in 8,355 children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 years and defined the 85th and 95th percentiles to identify overweight and obesity, respectively. Moreno et al 14 is a more recent criterion based on data from 2,160 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, and it uses the 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles of waist to classify abdominal fat. These authors used the same waist measuring methodology, which was the smallest abdominal circumference, and suggested that these data together with data from other countries could help create a single database and standardize the cutoff points worldwide.…”