Which Anthropometric Measure Best Correlates with Neonatal Fat Mass at Birth?

Abstract

Objective Body composition provides additional information than weight alone. There is currently no accepted anthropometric measure of adiposity in infants, yet weight and length data allow calculations of a wide array of indices. The study objective was to identify the anthropometric index which best correlates with neonatal adiposity, by examining the associations between neonatal fat mass and several anthropometric indices of newborn infants.

Study Design The sum of skinfolds (SSF), birth weight, and birth length were measured in 94 healthy infants (58% males) born at term to healthy mothers. Several anthropometric indices were calculated, and their relationship with SSF was assessed using linear regression adjusting for gestational age and sex.

Results SSF at birth was significantly higher in females compared with males (20.7 ± 3.3 vs. 18.8 ± 4.1 mm, p = 0.019). Birth weight, birth weight-for-gestational-age percentile, birth weight percentile, and weight/length ratio had the highest associations with SSF, yet R ² values were very low, ranging from 16 to 18%. Body mass index (BMI), BMI percentile, ponderal index, and the symmetry index had even lower associations.

Conclusion No anthropometric measure can confidently assess fat mass in infants at birth, in accordance with previous research. When body composition data are needed, they should be directly measured.

Keywords

adiposity - body composition - infant - newborn

• References

• 1 Oken E, Gillman MW. Fetal origins of obesity. Obes Res 2003; 11 (4) 496-506
• 2 Huxley R, Owen CG, Whincup PH , et al. Is birth weight a risk factor for ischemic heart disease in later life?. Am J Clin Nutr 2007; 85 (5) 1244-1250
• 3 Araújo de França GV, Restrepo-Méndez MC, Loret de Mola C, Victora CG. Size at birth and abdominal adiposity in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev 2014; 15 (2) 77-91
• 4 Class QA, Rickert ME, Lichtenstein P, D'Onofrio BM. Birth weight, physical morbidity, and mortality: a population-based sibling-comparison study. Am J Epidemiol 2014; 179 (5) 550-558
• 5 Yu ZB, Han SP, Zhu GZ , et al. Birth weight and subsequent risk of obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev 2011; 12 (7) 525-542
• 6 Schellong K, Schulz S, Harder T, Plagemann A. Birth weight and long-term overweight risk: systematic review and a meta-analysis including 643,902 persons from 66 studies and 26 countries globally. PLoS ONE 2012; 7 (10) e47776
• 7 Schmelzle HR, Quang DN, Fusch G, Fusch C. Birth weight categorization according to gestational age does not reflect percentage body fat in term and preterm newborns. Eur J Pediatr 2007; 166 (2) 161-167
• 8 Lee W, Riggs T, Koo W, Deter RL, Yeo L, Romero R. The relationship of newborn adiposity to fetal growth outcome based on birth weight or the modified neonatal growth assessment score. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2012; 25 (10) 1933-1940
• 9 Carberry AE, Raynes-Greenow CH, Turner RM, Askie LM, Jeffery HE. Is body fat percentage a better measure of undernutrition in newborns than birth weight percentiles?. Pediatr Res 2013; 74 (6) 730-736
• 10 Wells JC, Fewtrell MS. Measuring body composition. Arch Dis Child 2006; 91 (7) 612-617
• 11 Schmelzle HR, Fusch C. Body fat in neonates and young infants: validation of skinfold thickness versus dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Am J Clin Nutr 2002; 76 (5) 1096-1100
• 12 Koo WW, Walters JC, Hockman EM. Body composition in neonates: relationship between measured and derived anthropometry with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measurements. Pediatr Res 2004; 56 (5) 694-700
• 13 Krebs NF, Himes JH, Jacobson D, Nicklas TA, Guilday P, Styne D. Assessment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity. Pediatrics 2007; 120 (Suppl. 04) S193-S228
• 14 Baker JL, Farpour-Lambert NJ, Nowicka P, Pietrobelli A, Weiss R ; Childhood Obesity Task Force of the European Association for the Study of Obesity. Evaluation of the overweight/obese child—practical tips for the primary health care provider: recommendations from the Childhood Obesity Task Force of the European Association for the Study of Obesity. Obes Facts 2010; 3 (2) 131-137
• 15 Freedman DS, Sherry B. The validity of BMI as an indicator of body fatness and risk among children. Pediatrics 2009; 124 (Suppl. 01) S23-S34
• 16 Rohrer F. Der Index der Körperfülle als Maß des Ernährungszustandes. Munch Med Wochenschr 1921; 68: 580-582
• 17 De Cunto A, Paviotti G, Ronfani L , et al. Can body mass index accurately predict adiposity in newborns?. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2014; 99 (3) F238-F239
• 18 Rodríguez G, Samper MP, Olivares JL, Ventura P, Moreno LA, Pérez-González JM. Skinfold measurements at birth: sex and anthropometric influence. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2005; 90 (3) F273-F275
• 19 Dollberg S, Haklai Z, Mimouni FB, Gorfein I, Gordon ES. Birth weight standards in the live-born population in Israel. Isr Med Assoc J 2005; 7 (5) 311-314
• 20 The WHO Child Growth Standards. Available at http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards/en/ . Accessed December 10, 2015
• 21 Cole TJ. The LMS method for constructing normalized growth standards. Eur J Clin Nutr 1990; 44 (1) 45-60
• 22 Farquhar JW. Prognosis for babies born to diabetic mothers in Edinburgh. Arch Dis Child 1969; 44 (233) 36-47
• 23 Giannì ML, Roggero P, Taroni F, Liotto N, Piemontese P, Mosca F. Adiposity in small for gestational age preterm infants assessed at term equivalent age. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2009; 94 (5) F368-F372
• 24 Rodríguez G, Ventura P, Samper MP, Moreno L, Sarría A, Pérez-González JM. Changes in body composition during the initial hours of life in breast-fed healthy term newborns. Biol Neonate 2000; 77 (1) 12-16