Abstract
BackgroundBioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) has the potential to be used widely as a method of assessing body fatness and composition, both in clinical and community settings. BIA provides bioelectrical properties, such as whole-body impedance which ideally needs to be calibrated against a gold-standard method in order to provide accurate estimates of fat-free mass. UK studies in older children and adolescents have shown that, when used in multi-ethnic populations, calibration equations need to include ethnic-specific terms, but whether this holds true for younger children remains to be elucidated. The aims of this study were to examine ethnic differences in body size, proportions and composition in children aged 5 to 11 years, and to establish the extent to which such differences could influence BIA calibration.MethodsIn a multi-ethnic population of 2171 London primary school-children (47% boys; 34% White, 29% Black African/Caribbean, 25% South Asian, 12% Other) detailed anthropometric measurements were performed and ethnic differences in body size and proportion were assessed. Ethnic differences in fat-free mass, derived by deuterium dilution, were further evaluated in a subsample of the population (n = 698). Multiple linear regression models were used to calibrate BIA against deuterium dilution.ResultsIn children <11 years of age, Black African/Caribbean children were significantly taller, heavier and had larger body size than children of other ethnicities. They also had larger waist and limb girths and relatively longer legs. Despite these differences, ethnic-specific terms did not contribute significantly to the BIA calibration equation (Fat-free mass = 1.12+0.71*(height2/impedance)+0.18*weight).ConclusionAlthough clear ethnic differences in body size, proportions and composition were evident in this population of young children aged 5 to 11 years, an ethnic-specific BIA calibration equation was not required.
Highlights
Information on children’s body composition is increasingly used in research studies [1,2,3]
1575 children (Mean (SD) age 8.1 (1.6) years; 47% boys) were included in the body size population and 698 (8.5 (1.7) years; 46% boys) children were included in the Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) calibration population, with 355 children participating in both parts of the study (Figure S1)
With the exception of height and sitting/standing height ratio, ethnic differences in body size increased after 9 years of age, between Black African/Caribbean and South Asian children
Summary
Information on children’s body composition is increasingly used in research studies [1,2,3]. For a given BMI, South Asian children have more body fat [10, 11] and Black African/Caribbean children less, when compared with White children [11] To overcome these limitations, other more accurate methods of measuring body fatness are available, such as densitometry, magnetic resonance imaging, isotope dilution and multi-component model [12]. Methods: In a multi-ethnic population of 2171 London primary school-children (47% boys; 34% White, 29% Black African/Caribbean, 25% South Asian, 12% Other) detailed anthropometric measurements were performed and ethnic differences in body size and proportion were assessed. Results: In children ,11 years of age, Black African/Caribbean children were significantly taller, heavier and had larger body size than children of other ethnicities They had larger waist and limb girths and relatively longer legs. Ethnic-specific terms did not contribute significantly to PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0113883 December 5, 2014
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