Body composition in healthy singleton term infants using the three-dimensional photonic scanning method: A multicenter cross-sectional study

• Published in: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) Los Angeles County, Calif.), 2023-12, Vol.116, p.112169, Article 112169
• Main Authors: Zhang, Li, Zhang, Ting, Liu, Hui-Juan, Xing, De-Qiang, Zhao, Ya-Nan, Zhang, Yi-Bing, Li, Yan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue; Age; Birth weight; Body Composition; Body fat; Body Mass Index; Body size; Child; Children & youth; China; Cross-Sectional Studies; Ethnicity; Fat-free body mass; Female; Gestational age; Girls; Human growth; Humans; Indicators; Infant; Infants; Lean body mass; Male; Maternal & child health; Measurement techniques; Nutrition; Nutrition Assessment; Nutritional status; Photonics; Radiation effects; Scanning; Sex differences; Software; Trajectories; Weight
• ISSN: 0899-9007; 1873-1244; 1873-1244
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2023.112169

Body composition is an integral part of the nutritional assessment during infancy as it is closely related to future health. The three-dimensional photonic body surface scanning (3-DPS) method is a promising new technique for measuring body composition in children because of its advantages of easy operation, low cost, and no exposure to radiation. Using 3-DPS, this study aimed to illustrate the growth trajectories of body composition indicators during infancy according to sex and age. This was a multicenter cross-sectional study. The body compositions of 9644 singleton term infants from four centers in Shandong Province, China, were assessed using 3-DPS. The data of 8769 healthy infants (52.0% boys), whose z scores of weight-for-length, length-for-age, and weight-for-age, according to World Health Organization standards, were in the range of -2 to 2, -3 to 3, and -3 to 3, respectively, were sampled to construct percentile curves of fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), FM percentage (FM%), FM index (FMI), and FFM index (FFMI) with the generalized additive model for location, scale, and shape method. Percentile charts for FM, FFM, FM%, FMI, and FFMI were developed based on age and sex. FM and FFM presented consistent trajectories with that of weight, with the fastest growth occurring at 1 to 3 mo of age. FM%, FMI, and FFMI increased with age, peaked at 6 mo, and gradually declined, which was consistent with the body mass index trend. All indicators, except for FFMI, were always significantly higher in boys than in girls ages 1 to 12 mo, indicating that sex differences in body composition existed mainly in FM rather than in lean body mass. The body composition of healthy singleton term infants during infancy varies with age; boys may have more FM accumulation than girls.