Abstract
Until recently lean mass and adipose tissue mass in infants and adults have been estimated by indirect methods. The use of magnetic resonance imaging has allowed direct measurement of these two components. There are no published data on normal values of adipose tissue and lean body mass in healthy term infants at birth using this technique. We carried out whole body adipose tissue (AT) magnetic resonance imaging. Individual volumes of subcutaneous, intra-abdominal and other internal adipose tissue were quantified and these summated to derive total AT. We converted total AT volume to adipose tissue mass and subtracted this from the body weight to derive the lean body mass. We expressed lean mass as a ratio of adipose tissue mass. Total adipose tissue mass is expressed as a percentage of body weight (%ATM) and the individual compartments of adipose tissue as a percentage of total adipose tissue volume. The local research ethics committee approved the study and written parental consent was sought. Results are expressed as mean (sd). 20 healthy appropriately grown Caucasian infants were studied within a week of birth. Their gestational age at birth was 39.9 (1.4) weeks. The %ATM in this group was 17.7 (2.6). Of the total adipose tissue, 91.9 (1.2) % was in the subcutaneous compartment and 3.1 (0.5) % was deposited intra abdominally. The lean to adipose tissue mass ratio was 4.8 (0.9). No significant differences were noted between male and female babies in any of the results. Normative data on body composition in the term infant has relied on data obtained either by whole body chemical analysis carried or derived from indirect measures of lean mass and fat mass. We have presented data from normal healthy term infants of similar ethnic origin using a novel technique to study body composition.
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Uthaya, S., Thomas, L., Bell, J. et al. 382 Adipose Tissue Quantity and Distribution in Healthy Term Infants Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Pediatr Res 58, 420 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200508000-00411
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200508000-00411