Human Body Shape Index Based on an Experimentally Derived Model of Human Growth

Objectives To test the assumption of geometrically similar growth by developing experimentally derived models of human body growth during the age interval of 5 to 18 years; to use these derived growth models to establish a new human body shape index (HBSI) based on natural age-related changes in hum...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of pediatrics 2008-01, Vol.152 (1), p.45-49.e2
Main Authors: Lebiedowska, Maria K., PhD, Alter, Katharine E., MD, Stanhope, Steven J., PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Biological and medical sciences
Body Height
Body Mass Index
Body Size
Body Weight
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
General aspects
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Overweight - epidemiology
Pediatrics
Poland - epidemiology
Reference Values
Regression Analysis
Sex Characteristics
Thinness - epidemiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objectives To test the assumption of geometrically similar growth by developing experimentally derived models of human body growth during the age interval of 5 to 18 years; to use these derived growth models to establish a new human body shape index (HBSI) based on natural age-related changes in human body shape (HBS); and to compare various metrics of relative body weight (body mass index [BMI], ponderal index [PI], and HBSI) in a sample of 5- to 18-year-old children. Study design Nondisabled Polish children (n = 847) participated in this descriptive study. To model growth, the best fit between body height (H) and body mass (M) was calculated for each sex using the allometric equation M = mi Hχ . HBSI was calculated separately for girls and boys, using sex-specific values for χ and a general HBSI from combined data. The customary BMI and PI were calculated and compared with HBSI values. Results The models of growth were M = 13.11 H2.84 ( R2 = 0.90) for girls and M = 13.64 H2.68 ( R2 = 0.91) for boys. HBSI values contained less inherent variability and were less influenced by growth (age and height) compared with BMI and PI. Conclusions Age-related growth during childhood is sex-specific and not geometrically similar. Therefore, indices of HBS formulated from experimentally derived models of human growth are superior to customary geometric similarity-based indices for characterizing HBS in children during the formative growth years.
ISSN:0022-3476
1097-6833
DOI:10.1016/j.jpeds.2007.05.046