Tracking body fat distribution during growth: using measurements at two occasions vs one

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether within-individual variation is a factor in the generally reported poor tracking of central body fat distribution (CBFD) during development and whether two measurements of CBFD during each measurement occasion would improve the estimate of tracking over time. METHODS: A longitudinal study compared the results of two measurements of body fat (BF) and CBFD during each measurement occasion to the results of one measurement of BF and CBFD during each occasion every 4 months over 1 -3 y. A total of 345 boys and 333 girls in three age cohorts of 8, 11 and 14 y at baseline were examined. BF variables were: body mass index (BMI); fat mass and percentage body fat from bioelectrical impedance; two skinfold sums; and abdominal circumference. CBFD variables were: waist=hip and waist=thigh ratios; conicity; and log upper-lower skinfold ratio. RESULTS: Three-year tracking of BF varied from 0.79 to 0.90 for one-and from 0.81 to 0.93 for two-occasion measurements showing no apparent sex-or cohort-effects. Three-year tracking of CBFD was lower than that of BF (0.68 -0.75), but improved significantly with two-occasion measurements (0.75 -0.82). CONCLUSIONS: Within-individual variation is a significant factor in reported low tracking of CBFD in childhood. Estimates of tracking currently in the literature may underestimate the predictive value of CBFD, possibly because this research has used oneoccasion measurement. The increased use of two-occasion measurement should significantly improve the tracking of CBFD during development and provide a more realistic understanding of its predictive value.

Tracking and risk of abdominal obesity in the adolescence period in children aged 7–15. The cracow longitudinal growth study

“…It is difficult to compare the results with data from the published reports due to different length of studies and different criteria, but data concerning, predicting the risk of obesity prevalence in young adulthood described by the BMI index showed that only 40% of those who were overweight or obese at age 21 were identified when aged 7 (Williams, 2001) and suggested that being overweight in pre-adolescence seems to have no bearing on becoming overweight in young adulthood (Guo et al, 2000;Kozieł, 2005). Mueller et al (2001) indicate that central body fat distribution shows relatively weak consistency of serial measurement in comparison to total body fat. WHtR is easy to measure and takes height and abdominal adiposity into account.…”

“…The phenomenon of continuation of the abdominal fat distribution confirmed in about 60% acknowledges the fact that the type of fat distribution seems to be determined as early as the age of 7. Some information exists on the stability and tracking of abdominal fat distribution and it indicates rather moderate tracking, especially for indices describing subcutaneous adipose tissue (Campbell et al, 2001;Casey et al, 1994;Katzmarzyk et al, 1999;Mueller et al, 2001;Rolland-Cachera et al, 1990;van Lenthe et al, 1996). It may have connections with the fact that there is little intra-abdominal fat proportional to total body fat in children when compared with adults (Baumgartner et al, 1995), and more of the fat depot in children than in adults is subcutaneous, and in pre-adults, subcutaneous fat is as related to health risk factors, as is intra-abdominal or central fat (Goran and Gower, 1999).…”

Cardiovascular disease risk factor (CVDRF) associated waist circumference patterns in obese-prone children

“…When a child was above the CVDRF‐WC cut‐off, even as early as four years of age, the CVDRF‐WC status tends to persist over a four‐year period. While it has been demonstrated that childhood BMI is associated with BMI in young adults [48], [51], [52], minimal data have addressed the issue of body composition tracking during childhood and adolescence [53]. This topic warrants more research.…”

Reference Values and Early Determinants of Intra-Abdominal Fat Mass in Primary School Children

“…Since central obesity assessed by waist circumference [46] or skinfold measurements [47] is known to be tracked from childhood to adolescence, it seems reasonable to assume that positive tracking can also be found for IAF. The association between IAF and cardiovascular risk factors becomes even stronger among adolescents and adults [12,15,48], and this indicates that sonographically estimated IAF might be an important assessment parameter for obesity-associated comorbidity.…”