Measuring Body Fat in Children
Infants & Body Fat
In infants born at term, fat mass constitutes 13 to 15 percent of total
body weight. This proportion then varies with age. After the pre-puberty
rebound, there is an increase in body fat in girls and a decrease in boys.
Early in adulthood, 20 to 25 percent of the female body is composed of
fat while in males, the percentage is 15 to 20 percent body fat.
Intra-Abdominal Fat Mass & Children
In children, most of the fat mass is subcutaneous. North American weight
loss studies have however shown that starting at the age of 7 years, Caucasian
children have a greater intra-abdominal fat mass than Afro-American children.
Anthropometric measurements - body weight, height, circumferences (waist,
hip, upper arm), skin fold thickness - provide direct indications of body
fat. Body weight and height are two simple measurements that can be used
to draw body composition curves (BMI). These curves are universal indicators
applicable in all circumstances and widely used by practitioners. Although
it is easy to measure waist, hip and limb circumferences, the results
obtained are subject to important errors because it is difficult to identify
the precise anatomic area to measure and because intra-observer variability
is high.
Skin Fold Thickness & Obesity
For skin fold thickness, a costly, specially designed caliper is needed
to acquire quality measurements at one or several sites (tricipital, bicipital,
sub or suprascapular). This method is not adapted for severely obese children
because it is difficult to correctly measure the thickness of the entire
subcutaneous fat layer. Theoretically, skin fold thickness is more appropriate
for epidemiological research.
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