One million skinfolds: secular trends in the fatness of young people 1951–2004

Abstract

Background/Objectives: There are abundant data on secular trends in the body mass index (BMI) of children. However, BMI is an imperfect index of fatness, whereas skinfold thicknesses provide a more direct measure. This study aims to meta-analyse historical studies of triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses in young people aged 0-18 years in developed countries. Subjects/Methods: A total of 154 studies conducted between 1951 and 2003 were analysed, covering 2390 reports at the age  sex  country level, and more than 458 547 young people from 30 developed countries. Percentage body fat (% BF) was estimated using the Slaughter equations. The distribution of fat on the body was indexed by the triceps/subscapular (T/S) ratio. The skewness of skinfold distributions was operationalized by the coefficient of variation and the meanÀmedian difference. Results: There have been increases in triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses, at the rate of 0.4-0.5 mm per decade over the period . % BF has been increasing at the rate of 0.9% BF per decade. The distribution of fat on the body, as indexed by the triceps/subscapular (T/S) ratio, has become more central. There has been an increasing positive skew in the distribution of subcutaneous fat thickness in the population. Conclusions: These trends describe very unfavourable changes in the body composition of young people, foreshadowing a potential increase in the incidence of cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

Changes in total and central adiposity and body fat distribution among 7–10-year-old schoolchildren in Brazil

“…Anthropometric measures of adiposity include skinfold thicknesses (SFT) and waist circumference (WC). SFT, a measure of subcutaneous adipose tissue, is well correlated with total body fat mass (10) and has been used to monitor adiposity in population studies (11,12) . WC and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) are highly sensitive measures of central body fat accumulation that predict adverse cardiovascular risk factors (13,14) .…”

Modifications of adiposity in school-age children according to the nutritional status: a 20-year analysis

“…Contudo, existem outros critérios para identificação de alterações do estado nutricional relacionados à adiposidade. Um dos métodos utilizados para esse fim é a medida das DCs, uma vez que a mesma tem apresentado alterações significativas no padrão de adiposidade 9,18 . O presente estudo buscou encontrar concordâncias ou divergências na utilização desses diferentes métodos em uma mesma população, uma vez que o método pode estar dando interpretações errôneas no que se refere à classificação, não demonstrando efetivamente alterações do fenômeno.…”

“…Alguns estudos nacionais e internacionais vêm apresentando resultados das alterações da adiposidade ao longo dos anos, uma vez que esta tem sofrido modificações [7][8][9] . Estudos sugerem que a variação da distribuição anatômica da gordura corporal é um importante indicador morfológico, relacionado com complicações endócrinas e metabólicas predisponentes ao aparecimento e desenvolvimento de doenças cardiovasculares 10 .…”

Assessing the health-related outcomes and correlates of active transportation in children and youth

“…During the last few decades, several studies have shown large declines in indicators of physical fitness (Craig et al, 2012;Wedderkopp et al, 2004;Westerstahl et al, 2003) accompanied by increasing obesity levels Lobstein et al, 2004;Olds, 2009), and even increasing prevalence of CVD risk factors (McCrindle et al, 2010) among children and youth. Together, this body of evidence suggests that promoting PA should be viewed as an urgent public health priority.…”

“…1,2 However, compliance with this guideline is very low according to recent population-based studies. [3][4][5][6] For example, accelerometry data from the -2009 indicated that only 7% of Canadian children and youth met the PA guidelines, and this proportion was lower among adolescents. 4 Insufficient PA among children and youth is linked to many deleterious health outcomes including poorer aerobic fitness 7 and mental health 8 , lower glucose tolerance and higher fasting insulin levels 9 , and even cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.…”