Application of Simple Anthropometry in the Assessment of Health Risk: Implications for the Canadian Physical Activity, Fitness and Lifestyle Appraisal

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Janssen ◽  
Steven B. Heymsfield ◽  
Robert Ross
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Research Technology ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Ultimate Objective

Incremental improvements in our knowledge of the associations between human body composition and disease have been facilitated by advances in research technology. Magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography are among the technological advances that have helped unravel the mechanisms that link body composition and disease. However, because the use of these methods in large-scale studies and field settings is impractical, the potential relationships between body composition and health risk rely on the use of anthropometric tools. Indeed, the application of simple anthropometry to identify relationships between body composition and health risk in clinical practice is no less valuable than the use of advanced technologies to gain insight into the mechanistic links between body composition and disease in the laboratory. Accordingly, the purpose of this review is to summarize current knowledge regarding the ability of anthropometry to predict health risk and to act as surrogate measures of total and abdominal fat distribution. Because the ultimate objective is to make recommendations for revision to the Healthy Body Composition section of the Canadian Physical Activity, Fitness and Lifestyle Appraisal (CPAFLA) manual, we focus on those anthropometric methods specific to CPAFLA. Consistent with this objective, when necessary we present original data to reinforce important concepts not suitably addressed in the literature. Key words: body composition, fat distribution, obesity, visceral fat, anthropometry

Energy Expenditure and Body Fat Distribution in Mohawk Children

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-95
Author(s):  
Michael I. Goran ◽  
Mary Kaskoun ◽  
Rachel Johnson ◽  
Charlene Martinez ◽  
Benson Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Native Americans ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Total Energy ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Resting Energy Expenditure ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Total Energy Expenditure ◽  
Fat Free Mass

Objective. Epidemiologic studies suggest that Native Americans, including the Mohawk people, have a high prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular risk. However, current information on alterations in related variables such as energy metabolism and body composition in Native Americans is almost exclusively limited to already obese Pima adults living in the Southwest. The aim of this study was to characterize energy metabolism and body composition in young Mohawk children (17 girls, 11 boys; aged 4 to 7 years) as compared to Caucasian children (36 girls, 34 boys; aged 4 to 7 years). Total energy expenditure was measured by doubly labeled water, postprandial resting energy expenditure by indirect calorimetry, and activity energy expenditure was derived from the difference between total and resting energy expenditure. Fat and fat free mass were estimated from bioelectrical resistance, and body fat distribution was estimated from skinfolds and circumferences. Results. There were no significant effects of ethnic background or sex on body weight, height, or body mass index. Fat free mass was significantly higher in boys and fat mass was significantly higher in girls, with no effect of ethnic background. Chest skinfold thickness, the ratio of trunk skinfolds:extremity skinfolds, and the waist:hip ratio were significantly higher in Mohawk children by 2.5 mm, 0.09 units, and 0.03 units, respectively, independent of sex and fat mass. Total energy expenditure was significantly higher in Mohawk children compared to Caucasian (100 kcal/day in girls, 150 kcal/day in boys), independent of fat free mass and sex, due to a significantly higher physical activity-related energy expenditure. Conclusion. These data suggest that: 1) body fat is more centrally distributed in Mohawk relative to Caucasian children, and this effect is independent of sex and body fat content; 2) Mohawk children have a greater total energy expenditure than Caucasian children, independent of fat free mass, due to greater physical activity-related energy expenditure.

Relationships of Physical Activity and Diet Quality with Body Composition and Fat Distribution in US Adults

Obesity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 2431-2440
Author(s):  
Furong Xu ◽  
Geoffrey W. Greene ◽  
Jacob E. Earp ◽  
Alessandra Adami ◽  
Matthew J. Delmonico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Fat Distribution

scholarly journals Step-Defined Physical Activity Is Associated With Weight Loss and Changes in Body Composition and Fat Distribution in Response to Diet Interventions: The POUNDS Lost Trial

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1259-1259
Author(s):  
Qiaochu Xue ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Hao Ma ◽  
Tao Zhou ◽  
Yoriko Heianza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Tissue Mass ◽  
Adipose Tissue Mass ◽  
Fat Composition ◽  
Protein Diets

Abstract Objectives To examine whether objectively measured physical activity (PA) is associated with weight loss and changes in body composition and fat distribution in response to weight-loss diet interventions. Methods This study included 535 overweight or obese participants randomly assigned to 4 weight-loss diets varying in macronutrient intake with physical activity measured objectively with pedometers in the POUNDS Lost trial. The associations of step defined PA or the changes in PA with the changes in obesity measurements including body weight (BW), waist circumference (WC), body fat composition assessed by the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans, body fat distribution assessed by the computed tomography (CT) were examined at the 6 and 24 months. We also examined whether the associations were modified by diet interventions. Results The increase of step-defined PA was significantly predictive of weight loss and decrease in all measurements of body fat composition and distribution in response to diet interventions over 24 months (P < 0.0001 for all). We also observed significant inverse associations of changes in PA with changes in BW (P < 0.0001), WC (P < 0.0001), body fat composition (P < 0.05 for total fat, total lean, total fat mass %, and trunk fat %) and fat distribution (P < 0.05 for total adipose tissue mass (TAT), visceral adipose tissue mass (VAT), deep subcutaneous adipose tissue mass (DSAT)) from baseline to 6 months, when the maximum weight loss was achieved. Dietary fat or protein intake modified the associations between changes in PA and changes in body weight and waist circumference over 24 months; greater reduction in these measures was observed in participants with high-fat or low-protein diets than those in the low-fat or high-protein diets (P interaction < 0.05 for all). Conclusions Our results indicate that objectively measured PA is inversely related to the changes in body weight, body composition, and fat distribution in response to weight-loss diets, and such relation is more evident in people with high-fat or low-protein diets. Funding Sources The study was supported by grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the Fogarty International Center, and Tulane Research Centers of Excellence Awards.

Measurement Issues Related to Studies of Childhood Obesity: Assessment of Body Composition, Body Fat Distribution, Physical Activity, and Food Intake

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 101 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 505-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael I. Goran
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Body Fat Distribution ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Nutrition Research ◽  
Distribution Energy

This article reviews the current status of various methodologies used in obesity and nutrition research in children, with particular emphasis on identifying priorities for research needs. The focus of the article is 1) to review methodologic aspects involved with measurement of body composition, body-fat distribution, energy expenditure and substrate use, physical activity, and food intake in children; and 2) to present an inventory of research priorities.

scholarly journals Daily physical activity and macronutrient distribution of low-calorie diets jointly affect body fat reduction in obese women

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 595-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constanza Matilde López-Fontana ◽  
Almudena Sánchez-Villegas ◽  
Miguel Angel Martínez-Gonzalez ◽  
José Alfredo Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
High Fat Diet ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Obese Women ◽  
High Fat ◽  
Low Fat ◽  
Low Fat Diet ◽  
Composition Changes

Inadequate dietary patterns and sedentary lifestyles are believed to be important factors in predisposing people to obesity. This study analyzed the potential interaction between habitual physical activity and the carbohydrate (CHO)-fat distribution in 2 hypocaloric diets and the impact of such interplay on body composition changes. Forty healthy obese women, 20–50 years old, were randomly assigned to a high- or low-CHO energy-restricted diet, which was low or high in fat, respectively, during 10 weeks. Baseline and final measurements were performed to assess dietary habits, resting metabolic rate, and body composition changes. Physical activity was measured with a triaxial accelerometer and with a questionnaire. There were no significant differences in anthropometric and metabolic variables between both dietary groups at baseline. However, there was a positive correlation between total free-living physical activity and arm muscle preservation after 10 weeks (r = 0.371; p = 0.024). Interestingly, an interaction between macronutrient (CHO–fat distribution) intake and physical activity was found, since less-active subjects with a high-CHO–low-fat diet showed a greater fat loss than those more active with a lower-CHO–high-fat diet, whereas more-active subjects with a high-CHO–low-fat diet showed a smaller fat loss than those receiving a low-CHO–high-fat diet. Physical activity and the macronutrient content of energy-restricted diets, when designed to promote body fat mass reduction, should be considered together to better predict the outcome.

scholarly journals Effect of elevated physical activity on changes in body composition and subcutaneous fat distribution in boys aged 10 to 16 years: a longitudinal study

2014 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Pastuszak ◽  
Joanna Lewandowska ◽  
Krzysztof Buśko ◽  
Jadwiga Charzewska
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Subcutaneous Fat ◽  
Fat Distribution ◽  
Physical Development ◽  
Facial Hair ◽  
Total Body Fat ◽  
Total Body

Abstract The study is aimed at evaluation of the effect of regular physical activity on total and subcutaneous body fat and its distribution in boys aged 10 to 16 years. A three-year longitudinal study was carried out in order to monitor physical development in 237 boys from sports schools and regular schools in Warsaw, Poland. The boys were selected so that their rate of puberty changes was similar based on evaluation of voice and facial hair. The authors measured 5 skinfolds in the following sites: triceps, calf, subscapular, suprailiac, and abdominal skinfolds. The percentage fraction of total body fat in body mass was measured by means of Tanita TBF 300 electronic body composition analyser. A limb fat to trunk fat ratio (LF/TF) was also calculated in order to evaluate the type of distribution of subcutaneous fat in boys and monitor its changes as affected by regular high physical activity throughout puberty. Lower total body fat and subcutaneous fat in boys from sports schools was the effect of considerably higher physical activity. It was demonstrated that with some minimal values of total body fat and subcutaneous fat, physical activity did not cause a reduction in body fat. It was found that elevated physical activity in boys is conducive to development of a more limb-oriented (peripheral) fatness, which is more favourable to human health

scholarly journals Secular Changes of Adiposity in Czech Children Aged from 3 to 6 Years: Latent Obesity in Preschool Age

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Sedlak ◽  
Jana Pařízková ◽  
Lucie Procházková ◽  
Lucie Cvrčková ◽  
Hana Dvořáková
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Lower Extremity ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Subcutaneous Fat ◽  
Skinfold Thickness ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Similar Increase ◽  
Secular Changes

BMI, skinfold thickness, and circumferential measures were assessed in groups of normal healthy Czech boys (n=1764) and girls (n=1762) 3–6 years of age in the late 1950s and 1960s (sample C), in the 1990s (sample B), and in 2014–2016 (sample A). During these decades BMI has not changed significantly, and in selected groups (boys 3, 5, and 6, girls 3 and 6 years) it was most recently found to be significantly lower (P≤0.05). Subscapular, suprailiac, triceps, midthigh, and above patella skinfold thicknesses significantly increased in sample A as compared to sample C (P≤0.001). Comparison of the same skinfolds measured in the nineties (sample B) and more recently (sample A) showed similar increase of subcutaneous fat (P≤0.001). The increase of adiposity characterized by skinfolds occurring in spite of not markedly changed BMI indicates significant changes of body composition—latent (also hidden) obesity. The increase of adiposity was relatively greatest on the trunk (P≤0.001)—which is considered a marker of the greatest health risk. The decrease of femoral circumference (P≤0.05) along with simultaneous increase of thigh skinfold (P≤0.01) revealed the decrease of muscle mass in the lower extremity, obviously due to the reduction of weight-transferring physical activity.

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