Body composition data show that high BMI centiles overdiagnose obesity in children aged under 6 years.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Most authorities define childhood overweight/obesity as a BMI exceeding the same high centile cutoff at all ages, but it seems unlikely that true obesity prevalence (excess body fat) is constant throughout childhood.

Objectives

We investigated how fat mass (FM) and lean mass (LM), adjusted for height, relate to BMI and each other across childhood, using a uniquely large database of body composition measures, estimated using gold standard methods.

Methods

Cross-sectional and cohort data were collated from representative samples of healthy children aged 6 wk to 20 y and children attending obesity clinics aged 7-16 y. Body composition was measured by deuterium dilution up to age 4 y, and by either deuterium or the criterion 4-component model from 4 to 20 y. FM

SUBMITTER: Wright CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9257461 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature