TY - JOUR

T1 - Body fat throughout childhood in 2647 healthy Danish children

T2 - agreement of BMI, waist circumference, skinfolds with dual X-ray absorptiometry

AU - Wohlfahrt-Veje, C

AU - Tinggaard, J

AU - Winther, K

AU - Mouritsen, A

AU - Hagen, C P

AU - Mieritz, M G

AU - de Renzy-Martin, K T

AU - Boas, M

AU - Petersen, J H

AU - Main, K M

PY - 2014/6

Y1 - 2014/6

N2 - BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Total body fat percentage (%BF) evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans (DXA %BF) is widely recognized as a precise measure of fatness. We aimed to establish national reference curves for DXA %BF, %BF calculated from skinfolds (SF %BF) and waist circumference (WC) in healthy children, and to compare agreement between the different methods.SUBJECTS/METHODS: Based on 11 481 physical examinations (anthropometry) and 1200 DXA scans from a longitudinal cohort of Danish children (n=2647), we established reference curves (LMS-method) for SF %BF, WC (birth to 14 years) and DXA %BF (8-14 years). Age- and sex-specific Z-scores for body mass index (BMI), WC and SF %BF were compared. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for agreement of WC, SF %BF and BMI with DXA %BF to identify obese children (>+1 s.d.).RESULTS: %BF differed with age, sex, pubertal stage and social class. SF %BF correlated strongly with DXA %BF (r=0.86). BMI and WC also correlated positively with DXA %BF (Z-scores; r= 0.78 and 0.69). Sensitivity and specificity were 79.5 and 93.8 for SF %BF, 75.9 and 90.3 for BMI and 59.2 and 95.4 for WC.CONCLUSIONS: SF %BF showed the highest correlation and best agreement with DXA %BF in identifying children with excess fat (+1 s.d.).

AB - BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Total body fat percentage (%BF) evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans (DXA %BF) is widely recognized as a precise measure of fatness. We aimed to establish national reference curves for DXA %BF, %BF calculated from skinfolds (SF %BF) and waist circumference (WC) in healthy children, and to compare agreement between the different methods.SUBJECTS/METHODS: Based on 11 481 physical examinations (anthropometry) and 1200 DXA scans from a longitudinal cohort of Danish children (n=2647), we established reference curves (LMS-method) for SF %BF, WC (birth to 14 years) and DXA %BF (8-14 years). Age- and sex-specific Z-scores for body mass index (BMI), WC and SF %BF were compared. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for agreement of WC, SF %BF and BMI with DXA %BF to identify obese children (>+1 s.d.).RESULTS: %BF differed with age, sex, pubertal stage and social class. SF %BF correlated strongly with DXA %BF (r=0.86). BMI and WC also correlated positively with DXA %BF (Z-scores; r= 0.78 and 0.69). Sensitivity and specificity were 79.5 and 93.8 for SF %BF, 75.9 and 90.3 for BMI and 59.2 and 95.4 for WC.CONCLUSIONS: SF %BF showed the highest correlation and best agreement with DXA %BF in identifying children with excess fat (+1 s.d.).

KW - Absorptiometry, Photon

KW - Adipose Tissue

KW - Adolescent

KW - Age Factors

KW - Anthropometry

KW - Body Composition

KW - Body Mass Index

KW - Child

KW - Child, Preschool

KW - Denmark

KW - Humans

KW - Infant

KW - Infant, Newborn

KW - Longitudinal Studies

KW - Male

KW - Pediatric Obesity

KW - Puberty

KW - Reference Values

KW - Sensitivity and Specificity

KW - Sex Factors

KW - Skinfold Thickness

KW - Social Class

KW - Waist Circumference

U2 - 10.1038/ejcn.2013.282

DO - 10.1038/ejcn.2013.282

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 24473457

VL - 68

SP - 664

EP - 670

JO - European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

JF - European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

SN - 0954-3007

IS - 6

ER -