Age-related differences in limb fat-free mass and fat mass in healthy Chinese Adults

Mei Bai,Rui Wang,Linhao Zhu,Li Wang,Dongya Yuan,Guixin Li,Tianbo Jin

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-25447-z

Abstract

Fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) are important elements to evaluate nutritional status. The aims of this study were to establish reference values for FM and FFM of limbs, develop percentile distributions and assess age-related regional differences in body composition by multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analyzer (BIA) in healthy adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 3419 healthy subjects, 1595 men and 1824 women. Regional FM and FFM were measured by BIA. FM in men remained stable in both upper and lower limbs, with reference values (25–75th percentile) of 1–1.5 kg and 4.9–7.2 kg, respectively. Women’s leg FM remained stable with aging (reference values 6.2–7.9 kg), increasing in their arms (0.9–1.5 kg for youngest, 1.3–2.3 kg oldest). The reference values of upper limbs FFM were 5.3–6.2 kg in men and 3.3–3.9 kg in women. Lower limbs FFM decreased with age in both gender: the reference values were 19.5–23.3 kg (men) and 13.8–15.4 kg (women) for 18–30 age group, and 17.3–20 kg and 11.2–13.1 kg, respectively, for 60+ age group. These data provided reference values of FM and FFM in both limbs, enabling the identification of age and gender-related changes in limb composition in healthy Chinese subjects.

Highlights

The study of body composition is increasingly considered as an important aspect for the evaluation of nutritional and metabolic status
Body composition evaluation should be integrated into routine clinical practice for the initial assessment and sequential follow-up of nutritional status[16]
Our research provided Fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM) and PBF percentiles distributed by

Summary

Introduction

The study of body composition is increasingly considered as an important aspect for the evaluation of nutritional and metabolic status. Significant changes in body composition occur with aging and are associated with higher risk of morbidity and mortality[1,2,3]. The loss of FFM and relatively increased fat mass (FM) with aging has been documented in different clinical settings[5,6,7] and may occur even in healthy elderly adults[8]. The decline of FFM and the related loss of lean tissues occurred with advancing age in elderly men and women, and were associated with physical impairment, termed sarcopenia, even in independently living healthy subjects[9]. The purposes of our study were to provide reference values for FM and FFM of the lower and upper limbs in Chinese adults, and to investigate regional changes occurring with aging by the latest multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analyzer (BIA) technology

Objectives

Results

Conclusion