Department of Pediatrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215003, China.
Department of Child and Adolescent Healthcare, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215025, Jiangsu, China.
BMC Pediatr. 2023 Jul 13;23(1):358. doi: 10.1186/s12887-023-04134-7.
We aimed to analyze the characteristics of the body composition of children and adolescents aged 3-17 in Suzhou, China.
A cross-sectional study between January 2020 and June 2022 using bioelectrical impedance was conducted to determine the fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), skeletal muscle mass, and protein and mineral contents of 24,845 children aged 3-17 who attended the Department of Child and Adolescent Healthcare, Children's Hospital of Soochow University, China. Measurement data was presented in tables as mean ± SD, and groups were compared using the independent samples t-test.
FM and fat-free mass increased with age in both boys and girls. The fat-free mass of girls aged 14-15 decreased after reaching a peak, and that of boys in the same age group was higher than that of the girls (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in FM between boys and girls younger than 9- and 10-years old. The percentage body fat (PBF) and FM index of girls increased rapidly between 11 and 15 years of age (p < 0.05), and those of boys aged 11-14 were significantly lower (p < 0.05), suggesting that the increase in body mass index (BMI) was mainly contributed by muscle mass (MM) in boys.
The body composition of children and adolescents varies according to their age and sex. A misdiagnosis of obesity made on the basis of BMI alone can be avoided if BMI is used in combination with FM index, percentage body fat, and other indexes.
本研究旨在分析中国苏州地区 3-17 岁儿童青少年的身体成分特征。
采用横断面研究方法，于 2020 年 1 月至 2022 年 6 月间，利用生物电阻抗法对苏州大学附属儿童医院儿保科就诊的 24845 名 3-17 岁儿童青少年的脂肪量（FM）、去脂体重（FFM）、骨骼肌量、蛋白质和矿物质含量进行测定。计量资料以均数±标准差表示，组间比较采用独立样本 t 检验。
男孩和女孩的 FM 和 FFM 均随年龄增长而增加。14-15 岁女孩的 FFM 在达到峰值后下降，同年龄组男孩的 FFM 高于女孩（p<0.05）。9 岁和 10 岁以下儿童青少年的 FM 在男、女之间无明显差异。11-15 岁女孩的体脂百分比（PBF）和 FM 指数增长迅速（p<0.05），11-14 岁男孩显著低于女孩（p<0.05），提示 BMI 的增加主要由男孩的肌肉质量（MM）贡献。
儿童青少年的身体成分随年龄和性别而异。如果将 BMI 与 FM 指数、体脂百分比和其他指标结合使用，可避免仅根据 BMI 对肥胖做出误诊。
