Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Body composition, energy expenditure and physical activity

Body composition prediction equations based on deuterium oxide dilution method in Mexican children: a national study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 66, pages 1099–1103 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/objectives:

Obesity and undernutrition co-exist in many regions of Mexico. However, accurate assessments are difficult because epidemiological data on body composition are not available. The aim of this study was to facilitate assessments of body composition in Mexican school children of different geographical regions and ethnicity by developing equations for bioelectrical impedance and anthropometry based on deuterium oxide dilution.

Subjects/methods:

We evaluated 336 subjects (143 belonged to six major indigenous groups) from Northern, Central and Southern Mexico. We measured height (Ht), weight (Wt), tricipital skinfold (Tricp-SKF) and resistance (R) based on a bioimpedance analysis (BIA). Fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) were estimated from measurements of total body water with the deuterium dilution technique.

Results:

The final BIA equation was FFM (kg)=0.661 × Ht2/R+0.200 × Wt−0.320. The R2 was 0.96; the square root of the mean square error (SRMSE) was 1.39 kg. The final anthropometric equation was FM (kg)=−1.067 × sex+0.458 × Tricp-SKF+0.263 × Wt−5.407. The R2 was 0.91; SRMSE was 1.60 kg. The BIA equation had a bias of 0.095 kg and precision of 1.43 kg. The anthropometric equation had a bias of 0.047 kg and precision of 1.58 kg.

Conclusions:

We validated two equations for evaluating body composition in Mexican indigenous and non-indigenous children and youth from three main regions of the country. These equations provided reliable estimates and will promote a better understanding of both obesity and undernutrition.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kennedy G, Nantel G, Shetty P . Assessment of the double burden of malnutrition in six case study countries. In: The Double Burden of Malnutrition. Case Studies from Six Developing Contries. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper No. 84., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome, 2006 pp 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Secretaria de Salud. Acuerdo Nacional para la Salud Alimentaria. Estrategia contra el sobrepeso y la obesidad. Secretaría de Salud: México, 2010.

  3. Dehghan M, Merchant AT . Is bioelectrical impedance accurate for use in large epidemiological studies? Nutr J 2008; 7: 26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Kyle UG, Bosaeus I, De Lorenzo AD, Deurenberg P, Elia M, Manuel Gomez J et al. Bioelectrical impedance analysis-part II: utilization in clinical practice. Clin Nutr 2004; 23: 1430–1453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Navarrete F . Los pueblos indígenas de México. CDI: México, 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  6. del Rio-Navarro BA, Velazquez-Monroy O, Sanchez-Castillo CP, Lara-Esqueda A, Berber A, Fanghanel G et al. The high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mexican children. Obes Res 2004; 12: 215–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Haroun D, Taylor SJ, Viner RM, Hayward RS, Darch TS, Eaton S et al. Validation of bioelectrical impedance analysis in adolescents across different ethnic groups. Obesity 2010; 18: 1252–1259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo. Informe Sobre Desarrollo Humano Mexico 2002. Mundi-Prensa Mexico: DF Mexico, 2003.

  9. Yamamoto-Kimura L, Posadas-Romero C, Posadas-Sanchez R, Zamora-Gonzalez J, Cardoso-Saldana G, Mendez-Ramirez I . Prevalence and interrelations of cardiovascular risk factors in urban and rural Mexican adolescents. J Adolesc Health 2006; 38: 591–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. de Onis M, Onyango AW, Van den Broeck J, Chumlea WC, Martorell R . Measurement and standardization protocols for anthropometry used in the construction of a new international growth reference. Food Nutr Bull 2004; 25 (Suppl 1), S27–S36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ramirez E, Valencia ME, Moya-Camarena SY, Aleman-Mateo H, Mendez RO . Four-compartment model and validation of deuterium dilution technique to estimate fat-free mass in Mexican youth. Nutrition 2009; 25: 194–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Fomon SJ, Haschke F, Ziegler EE, Nelson SE . Body composition of reference children from birth to age 10 years. Am J Clin Nutr 1982; 35: 1169–1175.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Schoeller DA . Hydrometry. In: Heymsfield SB, Lohman TG, Wang ZM, Going SB, (eds) Human Body Composition. Human Kinetics: Champaign IL, 2005, pp 35–50.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Lohman TG . Assessment of body composition in children. Pediatr Exerc Sci 1989; 1: 19–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Wells JCK, Fewtrell MS, Davies PSW, Williams JE, Coward WA, Cole TJ . Prediction of total body water in infants and children. Arch Dis Child 2005; 90: 965–971.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Wickramasinghe VP, Lamabadusuriya SP, Cleghorn GJ, Davies PS . Assessment of body composition in Sri Lankan children: validation of a bioelectrical impedance prediction equation. Eur J Clin Nutr 2008; 62: 1170–1177.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Guo SS, Chumlea WC, Cockram DB . Use of statistical methods to estimate body composition. Am J Clin Nutr 1996; 64 (Suppl 3), S428–S435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Passing H, Bablok W . A new biometrical procedure for testing the equality of measurements from two different analytical methods. Application of linear regression procedures for method comparison studies in Clinical Chemistry, Part I. J Clin Chem Cli Biochem 1983; 21: 709–720.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Bland JM, Altman DG . Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. Lancet 1986; 1: 307–310.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. de Onis M, Onyango AW, Borghi E, Siyam A, Nishida C, Siekmann J . Development of a WHO growth reference for school-aged children and adolescents. Bull World Health Organ 2007; 85: 660–667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Haroun D, Taylor SJ, Viner RM, Hayward RS, Darch TS, Eaton S et al. Validation of bioelectrical impedance analysis in adolescents across different ethnic groups. Obesity 2010; 18: 1252–1259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Sun SS, Chumlea WC, Heymsfield SB, Lukaski HC, Schoeller D, Friedl K et al. Development of bioelectrical impedance analysis prediction equations for body composition with the use of a multicomponent model for use in epidemiologic surveys. Am J Clin Nutr 2003; 77: 331–340.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Rush EC, Puniani K, Valencia ME, Davies PS, Plank LD . Estimation of body fatness from body mass index and bioelectrical impedance: comparison of New Zeland European, Maori and Pacific Island children. Eur J Clin Nutr 2003; 11: 1394–1401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Schaefer F, Georgi M, Zieger A, Scharer K . Usefulness of bioelectrical impedance and skinfold measurements predicting fat-free mass derived from total body potassium in children. Pediatr Res 1994; 35: 617–624.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Withers RT, Laforgia J, Heymsfield SB . Critical appraisal of the estimation of body composition via two-, three-, and four-compartment models. Am Hum Biol 1999; 11: 175–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Huang TT-K, Watkins MP, Goran MI . Predicting total body fat from anthropometry in Latino children. Obes Res 2003; 11: 1192–1199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Shaikh S, Mahalanabis D . Empirically derived new equations for calculating body fat percentage based on skinfold thickness and midarm circumference in preschool Indian children. Am J Hum Biol 2004; 16: 278–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Lohman TG, Caballero B, Himes JH, Davis CE, Stewart D, Houtkooper L et al. Estimation of body fat from anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance in Native American children. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000; 24: 982–988.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was performed at the Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, AC. We gratefully acknowledge all participants, children and parents, for their collaboration. We also acknowledge the Secretaria de Educación Pública at the national level and the Secretaria de Educacion y Cultura from: Sonora, Chihuahua, Hidalgo, Puebla, Distrito Federal, Chiapas and Yucatan for facilitating access to families. We thank Elena Flores, Alfredo Pérez, Martha Barrera, Luis González, Carmen Vera, Alma Robles, José Ponce and Isabel Gardea for technical assistance. This research was supported by CONACyT, Convocatoria Salud 2003-C01-56 to MEV, a PhD scholarship to ER from the CONACyT, and IAEA (RLA/6/059).

Author information

Author notes

  1. M E Valencia

    Present address: 5Current address: University of Sonora, Hermosillo, Sonora, México.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Composición Corporal y Gasto Energético, Centro de Investigación en Nutrición y Salud Pública, Facultad de Salud Pública y Nutrición, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Nuevo León, México

    E Ramírez

  2. Division de Nutrición, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, AC, Sonora, México

    M E Valencia, S Y Moya-Camarena & H Alemán-Mateo

  3. Departamento de Nutrición, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y de la Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Distrito Federal, México

    H Bourges & T Espinosa

  4. Laboratorio de Metabolismo Energético e Isotopos Estables, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile, Chile

    G Salazar

Authors
  1. E Ramírez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M E Valencia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. H Bourges
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. T Espinosa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. S Y Moya-Camarena
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. G Salazar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. H Alemán-Mateo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M E Valencia.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ramírez, E., Valencia, M., Bourges, H. et al. Body composition prediction equations based on deuterium oxide dilution method in Mexican children: a national study. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 1099–1103 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.89

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.89

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links