Association Between Body Composition And Pulmonary Ventilation Function In Children And Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Study

Objectives To describe the distribution of anthropometric variables on body composition by age and gender in children and adolescents aged 7 to 18, analyze the association and consistence among different measured variables and derived indicators and explore the effects of body composition and distributed patterns of body fat on pulmonary ventilation function in children and adolescents.Methods A total of 2400 participants were recruited in Suzhou by cluster sampling in the Physical Fitness and Health Surveillance of Chinese School Students, 2005. Height, weight, triceps, subscapular and abdominal skinfold thickness (SF) were measured according to standard procedures. Body mass index (BMI) was derived from height and weight. Percent body fat (PBF) and lean body weight (LBW) were calculated by using the Nagamine and Suzuki equation (from the sum of triceps and subscapular SF). The characteristics of BMI, SFs, PBF and LBW with age were described separately in boys and girls. Independent-samples t-test and two-independent-samples nonparametric test were performed to exmine the gender differences among different age's groups.Five hundred and twenty five children and adolescents among the above 2400 participants took part in our study according to their informed consents. First, body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Then, interrelationships for body composition variables (PBF, fat mass and LBW measured by BIA and SF-based equation respectively) and their association with BMI were determined by use of partial correlations, controlling for age. Meanwhile in 29 children aged 9 to 12 Bland-Altman procedure and paired-sample t-test were used to examine the pair-wise comparison between PBF measured by dual-energy X-ray...