title: Body composition of preschool children and relation to birth weight.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to evaluate the relationship between body composition of preschool children suffering from excess weight and birth weight (BW).
  
  
  METHODS
  probabilistic sample, by conglomerates, with 17 daycare centers (of a total of 59) composing a final sample of 479 children. We used Z-score of Body Mass Index (zBMI) ≥ +1 and ≥ +2, respectively, to identify preschool children with risk of overweight and excess weight (overweight or obesity). The arm muscle area (AMA) and the arm fat area (AFA) were estimated from measurements of arm circumference, triceps skin fold thickness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the prevalence of risk of overweight was 22.9% (n=110) and excess weight was 9.3% (n=44). The risk of overweight and excess weight in children did not show correlation between BW and AFA, but it did with adjusted arm muscle area (AMAa) (rp= 0.21; p= 0.0107). The analysis of the group with excess weight alone also showed a positive correlation between BW and AMAa (rp= 0.42; p= 0.0047).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  among overweight children, lower BW is associated with a lower arm muscle area in early preschool age, regardless of the fat arm area presented by them.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and child Health, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thais Costa
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal, FSP, USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Viviane G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and child Health, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Janaína P C da
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, USP, Taubaté, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ciro João
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Bertoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, FM, USP.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leone
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001132:Arm; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002656:Child Day Care Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012885:Skinfold Thickness