Abstract
Background:In children with either delayed or accelerated growth, expressing the body mass index (BMI) to chronological age might lead to invalid body composition estimates. Reference to height-age has been suggested for such populations; however its validity has not been demonstrated.Methods:Anthropometric data of healthy children were obtained from the German KiGGS survey. We selected three samples with different height distributions representing short stature (mean height SDS: -1.6), normal stature (height SDS: 0), and tall stature (height SDS: +1.6), and compared BMI-for-age and BMI-for-height-age between these samples across the paediatric age range. Differences between samples were tested using Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and permutation tests.Results:At a given age, BMI was distributed towards lower values in short, and towards higher values in tall subjects as compared to a population with average height distribution. Expressing BMI to height-age eliminated these differences in boys with a short stature from 4 years to 14 years of age, in tall boys from 4 to 16 years, in short girls aged 2-10 years or tall girls aged 2-17 years.Conclusion:From late infancy to adolescent age, BMI distribution co-varies with height distribution and referencing to height-age appears appropriate within this age period. However, caution is needed when data about pubertal status are absent.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e72068 |
| Journal | PLoS One |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 7 2013 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Application of Body Mass Index According to Height-Age in Short and Tall Children. / Bonthuis, Marjolein; Jager, Kitty J.; Abu-Hanna, Ameen; Verrina, Enrico; Schaefer, Franz; van Stralen, Karlijn J.
In: PLoS One, Vol. 8, No. 8, e72068, 07.08.2013.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Application of Body Mass Index According to Height-Age in Short and Tall Children
AU - Bonthuis, Marjolein
AU - Jager, Kitty J.
AU - Abu-Hanna, Ameen
AU - Verrina, Enrico
AU - Schaefer, Franz
AU - van Stralen, Karlijn J.
PY - 2013/8/7
Y1 - 2013/8/7
N2 - Background:In children with either delayed or accelerated growth, expressing the body mass index (BMI) to chronological age might lead to invalid body composition estimates. Reference to height-age has been suggested for such populations; however its validity has not been demonstrated.Methods:Anthropometric data of healthy children were obtained from the German KiGGS survey. We selected three samples with different height distributions representing short stature (mean height SDS: -1.6), normal stature (height SDS: 0), and tall stature (height SDS: +1.6), and compared BMI-for-age and BMI-for-height-age between these samples across the paediatric age range. Differences between samples were tested using Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and permutation tests.Results:At a given age, BMI was distributed towards lower values in short, and towards higher values in tall subjects as compared to a population with average height distribution. Expressing BMI to height-age eliminated these differences in boys with a short stature from 4 years to 14 years of age, in tall boys from 4 to 16 years, in short girls aged 2-10 years or tall girls aged 2-17 years.Conclusion:From late infancy to adolescent age, BMI distribution co-varies with height distribution and referencing to height-age appears appropriate within this age period. However, caution is needed when data about pubertal status are absent.
AB - Background:In children with either delayed or accelerated growth, expressing the body mass index (BMI) to chronological age might lead to invalid body composition estimates. Reference to height-age has been suggested for such populations; however its validity has not been demonstrated.Methods:Anthropometric data of healthy children were obtained from the German KiGGS survey. We selected three samples with different height distributions representing short stature (mean height SDS: -1.6), normal stature (height SDS: 0), and tall stature (height SDS: +1.6), and compared BMI-for-age and BMI-for-height-age between these samples across the paediatric age range. Differences between samples were tested using Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and permutation tests.Results:At a given age, BMI was distributed towards lower values in short, and towards higher values in tall subjects as compared to a population with average height distribution. Expressing BMI to height-age eliminated these differences in boys with a short stature from 4 years to 14 years of age, in tall boys from 4 to 16 years, in short girls aged 2-10 years or tall girls aged 2-17 years.Conclusion:From late infancy to adolescent age, BMI distribution co-varies with height distribution and referencing to height-age appears appropriate within this age period. However, caution is needed when data about pubertal status are absent.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0072068
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0072068
M3 - Article
VL - 8
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 8
M1 - e72068
ER -