Acta Diabetol. 2003 Oct;40 Suppl 1:S151-3.
Body composition assessment: an indispensable tool for disease management.
Battezzati A, Bertoli S, Testolin C, Testolin G.
International Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status, University of Milan, Via Colombo 60, I-20133, Milan, Italy. alberto.battezzati@unimi.it
Recent conceptual and technology advancements fostered a rapid development in the field of body composition assessment and provided new and powerful investigative tools. Densitometry, isotopic dilution, bioelectrical impedance, whole-body counting, neutron activation, X-ray absorptiometry, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and spectroscopy have been the most widely employed methods. The result of this effort is the discovery that body composition at both molecular and cellular or tissue levels is affected by virtually all the pathologic conditions found in medical textbooks. The field is now mature for the clinical translation of this research. Some applications rely on a very solid base and their clinical use has been fully codified. Others still need reference values diversified on a regional and ethnic scale, consensus for interpretation of values, and guidelines for clinical indications. Only after these requirements are satisfied will it be possible to adopt specific practical guidelines, the most reasonable basis for acceptance and accreditation by care providers. Some applications are already being used in several settings. Therefore, establishing the guidelines for clinical application of body composition assessment methods is not only important for physicians and their patients, but is also urgent so as to prevent misuse and to ensure correct communication with the media in this field.
Acta Diabetol. 2003 Oct;40 Suppl 1:S154-7.
Body composition in disease: what can we measure and how can we measure it?
Van Loan MD.
US Department of Agriculture Western Human Nutrition Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. mvanloan@whnrc.usda.gov
This manuscript presents a brief overview of the topic of body composition in disease. The purpose of this paper is threefold: (1). to present examples of diseases in which body composition assessment might provide valuable information to physicians and other clinical personnel in patient care; (2). provide basic information on the types of methodologies available for various aspects of body composition assessment; and (3). give a brief review of some of the research literature available on the topic of body composition use in disease. Materials in this paper should not be interpreted as providing all the relevant information in this area of research, but the paper does represent a limited overview of the topic.
Acta Diabetol. 2003 Oct;40 Suppl 1:S270-3.
Pediatric body composition in clinical studies: which methods in which situations?
Pietrobelli A, Peroni DG, Faith MS.
Pediatric Unit, School of Medicine, University of Verona Policlinic “GB Rossi”, Via delle Menegone 10, I-37134, Verona, Italy. angpie@tin.it
There is currently much interest in the subject of pediatric obesity. Accurate measures of body composition are required given the potential influence of variables such as growth, metabolic rate, physical activity, and physical fitness. Because boys and girls have a different growth pattern, gender is a fundamental consideration when measuring children and assessing body composition. The central aim of this paper is to review methods of pediatric body composition assessment that can provide new insights for clinical practice.
Acta Diabetol. 2003 Oct;40 Suppl 1:S114-6.
A brief history of body composition-from F. D. Moore to the new Reference Man.
Pierson RN Jr.
Obesity Research Center, StLuke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, 1111 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025, USA. rnp1@columbia.edu
The history of applying body composition measurements to physiology is short, well less than a century. Progress has been phenomenal, on three different fronts: tracer dilution methods, neutron activation methods, and imaging methods. The latter have seen the most recent and exciting advances, and we have probably just “scratched the surface” for the futures of imaging, with spectroscopy showing great promise. However the physiological principles established in the 1950-1980 era are the reason we are here; measurements that lead to diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of disease mechanisms. The future is very bright.
Personal Name as Subject:
Moore FD
Phys Med Biol. 2006 Jul 7;51(13):R203-28. Epub 2006 Jun 20.
Development of methods for body composition studies.
Mattsson S, Thomas BJ.
Department of Radiation Physics, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
This review is focused on experimental methods for determination of the composition of the human body, its organs and tissues. It summarizes the development and current status of fat determinations from body density, total body water determinations through the dilution technique, whole and partial body potassium measurements for body cell mass estimates, in vivo neutron activation analysis for body protein measurements, dual-energy absorptiometry (DEXA), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, fMRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) for body composition studies on tissue and organ levels, as well as single- and multiple-frequency bioimpedance (BIA) and anthropometry as simple easily available methods. Methods for trace element analysis in vivo are also described. Using this wide range of measurement methods, together with gradually improved body composition models, it is now possible to quantify a number of body components and follow their changes in health and disease.
Prim Care. 2003 Jun;30(2):249-65.
Evaluation of body composition: practical guidelines.
Gallagher D, Song MY.
Department of Medicine, Institute of Human Nutrition, Body Composition Unit, Obesity Research Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, New York, NY 10025, USA. dg108@columbia.edu
The measurement of body composition in the truest sense allows for the estimation of body tissues, organs, and their distributions in living persons without inflicting harm. It is important to recognize that there is no single measurement method that is error-free. Furthermore, bias can be introduced if a measurement method makes assumptions related to body composition proportions and characteristics that are inaccurate across different populations. Some methodologic concerns include hydration of fat-free body mass changes with age and differences across ethnic groups [73]; the density of fat-free body mass changes with age and differences between men and women [74, 75]; total body potassium decreases with age [73] and fatness [76] and differences between African Americans and Caucasians [77]; the mass of skeletal muscle differences across race group [63]; and VAT differences across sex [78] and race [67, 79, 80] groups, independent of total adiposity. These between-group differences influence the absolute accuracy of methods for estimating fatness or FFM that involve the two-compartment model approach. The clinical significance of the body compartment to be measured should be determined before a measurement method is selected, because the more advanced techniques are less accessible and more costly.
Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. 2007 Feb;12(1):87-91. Epub 2006 Dec 14.
Evaluation of body composition in neonates and infants.
Ellis KJ.
Baylor College of Medicine, USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, 1100 Bates St, Houston, TX 77030, USA. kellis@bcm.tmc.edu
A better understanding of the nutritional needs of both healthy and sick infants is important. Not only does too much or too little nutrition during early life have long-term effects on health, but periods of rapid growth during the first year of life also have long-term consequences. Knowledge of the changes in body composition in early life can help to better define nutritional needs at these ages. Several methods are available for measuring body composition of neonates and infants. Most focus on an assessment of either body fatness or bone mineralization; only a few can monitor the quality of the non-fat lean tissues. This paper provides an evaluation of the different approaches currently available to monitor infant body composition, identifying both their strengths and limitations.
These papers and abstracts of papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals. They may draw conclusions and discuss applications of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis which have not been reviewed by the FDA. Statements made within them are the sole responsibility of the authors. Unless otherwise indicated, no material support was provided to the authors or study investigators by RJL Sciences.
