Introduction studies evaluating the growth of preterm infants show them reaching term equivalent age with less. There has been a proliferation of equations for estimation of body composition from skinfolds but some doubt as to their general applicability. The adp has been validated for use in infants from birth to 8 kg 6 months and in children older than 5 years. Evidence base and practicalities 1. Two instruments are commercially available for adp assessment of body composition. Dual energy x ray absorptiometry dxa is a method to assess body composition based on the three compartment model.
Currently the pea pod is the only commercially available technology that allows for accurate body composition assessment of newborns. The body composition of children from birth to 16 years of age has been measured using this method table 1 1 3. 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 peapod figure 14 has been shown to be accurate in comparison to underwater weighing for assessment of. 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. The pea pod is extremely simple to operate with software prompts guiding the operator through each step of the process.
Skinfold thickness is a simple means of estimating body composition which is widely used in children but there is little information on its validity. 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. Body composition analysis in preterm infants body composition analysis can be considered as. Measurement of body composition is proving increasingly important in clinical nutrition and research. Measuring body composition in the preterm infant.
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. 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. 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 birth and term we measured weight and length and calculated body mass index. Dual energy x ray absorptiometry dxa is a method to assess body composition based on the three compartment model.
Gallery of Measurement Of Body Composition In Infants
