PEDIATRICS Vol. 107 No. 2 February 2001, pp. 344-350

Childhood Body Composition in Relation to Body Mass Index

Received Dec 7, 1999; accepted May 25, 2000.

From the Division of Human Biology, Department of Community Health, Wright State University School of Medicine, Kettering, Ohio.

Objective.  The aim is to describe body composition in relation to body mass index (BMI; body weight/stature²) to provide health care professionals insight into the meaning, significance, and limitations of BMI as an index of adiposity during childhood.

Methods.  Data from 387 healthy, white children 8 to 18 years of age from the Fels Longitudinal Study were analyzed. Measurements were scheduled annually and each child was examined 1 to 11 times, totaling 1748 observations. Total body fat (TBF) and fat-free mass (FFM) were determined from hydrodensitometry. Stature and weight were measured using standard methods and BMI and the components of BMI, TBF/stature², and FFM/stature² were calculated. Analyses included correlations between BMI and body composition variables; age-related patterns of BMI, TBF/stature², and FFM/stature²; and annual changes in BMI, TBF/stature², and FFM/stature².

Results.  Generally, correlations between BMI and body composition variables were strong and significantly different from zero. Means for BMI throughout childhood were similar for boys and girls, although significantly larger values were observed for girls at ages 12 to 13 years. Age-related patterns of TBF/stature² and FFM/stature² differed between sexes. In each sex, annual increases in BMI were driven primarily by increases in FFM/stature² until late adolescence, with increases in TBF/stature² contributing to a larger proportion of the BMI increases in girls than in boys.

Conclusions.  Unlike adults, annual increases in BMI during childhood are generally attributed to the lean rather than to the fat component of BMI. Because the properties of BMI vary during childhood, health care professionals must consider factors such as age and sex when interpreting BMI.  Key words:  body mass index, BMI, body composition, total body fat, fat free mass, children, adolescents.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. E Buyken, N. Karaolis-Danckert, and T. Remer Association of prepubertal body composition in healthy girls and boys with the timing of early and late pubertal markers Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, January 1, 2009; 89(1): 221 - 230. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. E Hoover-Fong, K. J Schulze, J. McGready, H. Barnes, and C. I Scott Age-appropriate body mass index in children with achondroplasia: interpretation in relation to indexes of height Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, August 1, 2008; 88(2): 364 - 371. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Liu, E. E. Forbes, N. D. Ryan, D. Rofey, T. S. Hannon, and R. E. Dahl Rapid Eye Movement Sleep in Relation to Overweight in Children and Adolescents Arch Gen Psychiatry, August 1, 2008; 65(8): 924 - 932. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. F. Krebs, J. H. Himes, D. Jacobson, T. A. Nicklas, P. Guilday, and D. Styne Assessment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity Pediatrics, December 1, 2007; 120(Supplement_4): S193 - S228. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Lee, D. Appugliese, N. Kaciroti, R. F. Corwyn, R. H. Bradley, and J. C. Lumeng Weight Status in Young Girls and the Onset of Puberty Pediatrics, March 1, 2007; 119(3): e624 - e630. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Lee, M. J. Okumura, M. M. Davis, W. H. Herman, and J. G. Gurney Prevalence and Determinants of Insulin Resistance Among U.S. Adolescents: A population-based study. Diabetes Care, November 1, 2006; 29(11): 2427 - 2432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. A. Moreno, M. G. Blay, G. Rodriguez, V. A. Blay, M. I. Mesana, J. L. Olivares, J. Fleta, A. Sarria, M. Bueno, and AVENA-Zaragoza Study Group Screening performances of the international obesity task force body mass index cut-off values in adolescents. J. Am. Coll. Nutr., October 1, 2006; 25(5): 403 - 408. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. W. Demerath, C. M. Schubert, L. M. Maynard, S. S. Sun, W. C. Chumlea, A. Pickoff, S. A. Czerwinski, B. Towne, and R. M. Siervogel Do Changes in Body Mass Index Percentile Reflect Changes in Body Composition in Children? Data From the Fels Longitudinal Study Pediatrics, March 1, 2006; 117(3): e487 - e495. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. T. Rhodes, J. I. Wolfsdorf, D. D. Cuthbertson, H. A. Feldman, D. S. Ludwig, and the DPT-1 Study Group Effect of Low-Dose Insulin Treatment on Body Weight and Physical Development in Children and Adolescents at Risk for Type 1 Diabetes Diabetes Care, August 1, 2005; 28(8): 1948 - 1953. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. E. Remsberg, E. W. Demerath, C. M. Schubert, Wm. C. Chumlea, S. S. Sun, and R. M. Siervogel Early Menarche and the Development of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Adolescent Girls: The Fels Longitudinal Study J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 2005; 90(5): 2718 - 2724. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. G Neovius, Y. M Linne, B. S Barkeling, and S. O Rossner Sensitivity and specificity of classification systems for fatness in adolescents Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2004; 80(3): 597 - 603. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. W Demerath, J. Li, S. S Sun, W C. Chumlea, K. E Remsberg, S. A Czerwinski, B. Towne, and R. M Siervogel Fifty-year trends in serial body mass index during adolescence in girls: the Fels Longitudinal Study Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, August 1, 2004; 80(2): 441 - 446. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Mandel, E. Zimlichman, F. B. Mimouni, I. Grotto, and Y. Kreiss Height-Related Changes in Body Mass Index: A Reappraisal J. Am. Coll. Nutr., February 1, 2004; 23(1): 51 - 54. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. M. Maynard, D. A. Galuska, H. M. Blanck, and M. K. Serdula Maternal Perceptions of Weight Status of Children Pediatrics, May 1, 2003; 111(5): 1226 - 1231. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H D. McCarthy, S. M Ellis, and T. J Cole Central overweight and obesity in British youth aged 11-16 years: cross sectional surveys of waist circumference BMJ, March 22, 2003; 326(7390): 624 - 624. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. W Taylor, I. E Jones, S. M Williams, and A. Goulding Body fat percentages measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry corresponding to recently recommended body mass index cutoffs for overweight and obesity in children and adolescents aged 3-18 y Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, December 1, 2002; 76(6): 1416 - 1421. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. S. Guo, W. Wu, W. C. Chumlea, and A. F Roche Predicting overweight and obesity in adulthood from body mass index values in childhood and adolescence Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2002; 76(3): 653 - 658. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. W. Choi, S. H. Pai, and S. K. Kim Associations Between Total Body Fat and Serum Lipid Concentrations in Obese Human Adolescents Ann. Clin. Lab. Sci., July 1, 2002; 32(3): 271 - 278. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.-Y. Song, J. Kim, M. Horlick, J. Wang, R. N. Pierson Jr., M. Heo, and D. Gallagher Prepubertal Asians have less limb skeletal muscle J Appl Physiol, June 1, 2002; 92(6): 2285 - 2291. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Horlick Body Mass Index in Childhood-- Measuring a Moving Target J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., September 1, 2001; 86(9): 4059 - 4060. [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S. Lindsay, R. L. Hanson, J. Roumain, E. Ravussin, W. C. Knowler, and P. A. Tataranni Body Mass Index as a Measure of Adiposity in Children and Adolescents: Relationship to Adiposity by Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry and to Cardiovascular Risk Factors J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., September 1, 2001; 86(9): 4061 - 4067. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]