Body measurements Info

There has been a proliferation of equations for estimation of body composition from skinfolds but some doubt as to their general applicability. Dual energy x ray absorptiometry dxa is a method to assess body composition based on the three compartment model. Body composition analysis in preterm infants body composition analysis can be considered as. Two instruments are commercially available for adp assessment of body composition. The body composition of children from birth to 16 years of age has been measured using this method table 1 1 3. However there remains a gap for use in children from 6 months to about 5 years of age.

Measurement of body composition is proving increasingly important in clinical nutrition and research. At birth and term we measured weight and length and calculated body mass index. The peapod figure 14 has been shown to be accurate in comparison to underwater weighing for assessment of. The adp has been validated for use in infants from birth to 8 kg 6 months and in children older than 5 years. Health care providers can use body composition information to screen for current and future health risks provide anticipatory guidance monitor therapeutic progress and tailor treatment for precision medicine. The body composition of children from birth to 16 years of age has been measured using this method table 1 1 3.

The pea pod is extremely simple to operate with software prompts guiding the operator through each step of the process. Measurement of body composition during infancy and childhood has important uses in primary and specialty health care settings clinical research and national surveys and surveillance. At term infants underwent air displacement plethysmography to determine body composition fat and fat free mass and magnetic resonance imaging to quantify brain size bifrontal diameter biparietal diameter transverse cerebellar distance. Introduction studies evaluating the growth of preterm infants show them reaching term equivalent age with less. Skinfold thickness is a simple means of estimating body composition which is widely used in children but there is little information on its validity. Measuring body composition in the preterm infant.

Currently the pea pod is the only commercially available technology that allows for accurate body composition assessment of newborns. The pea pod is an air displacement plethysmography adp system using whole body densitometry to determine body composition fat and fat free mass in infants weighing between 1 and 8 kg. Evidence base and practicalities 1. Dual energy x ray absorptiometry dxa is a method to assess body composition based on the three compartment model. Adp is now considered a criterion method of body composition analysis in children 18 and in several studies it has provided more accurate measurements of body fat than dxa 19 20.