Body composition assessment in American Indian children.
Although the high prevalence of obesity in American Indian children was documented in several surveys that used body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2) as the measure, there is limited information on more direct measurements of body adiposity in this population. The present study evaluated body composition in 81 boys (aged 11.2+/-0.6 y) and 75 girls (aged 11.0+/-0.4 y) attending public schools in 6 American Indian communities: White Mountain Apache, Pima, and Tohono O'Odham in Arizona; Oglala Lakota and Sicangu Lakota in South Dakota; and Navajo in New Mexico and Arizona. These communities were participating in the feasibility phase of Pathways, a multicenter intervention for the primary prevention of obesity. Body composition was estimated by using a combination of skinfold thickness and bioelectrical impedance measurements, with a prediction equation validated previously in this same population. The mean BMI was 20.4+/-4.2 for boys and 21.1+/-5.0 for girls. The sum of the triceps plus subscapular skinfold thicknesses averaged 28.6+/-7.0 mm in boys and 34.0+/-8.0 mm in girls. Mean percentage body fat was 35.6+/-6.9 in boys and 38.8+/-8.5 in girls. The results from this study confirmed the high prevalence of excess body fatness in school-age American Indian children and permitted the development of procedures, training, and quality control for measurement of the main outcome variable in the full-scale Pathways study.
Lohman
T G
TG
Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, USA. lohman@u.arizona.edu
Caballero
B
B
Himes
J H
JH
Hunsberger
S
S
Reid
R
R
Stewart
D
D
Skipper
B
B
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D044466:Asian People; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017097:Electric Impedance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012574:Schools; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D014481:United States