Prediction Equations for Body-fat Percentage in Indian Infants and Young Children Using Skinfold Thickness and Mid-arm Circumference

Abstract

The objective of the study was to develop prediction equations for fat-mass percentage in infants in India
based on skinfold thickness, mid-arm circumference, and age. Skinfold thicknesses and mid-arm circumference
of 46 apparently-healthy infants (27 girls and 19 boys), aged 6-24 months, from among the
urban poor attending a well baby clinic of a hospital in Kolkata were measured. Their body-fat percentage
was measured using the D₂O dilution technique as the reference method. Equations for body-fat percentage
were developed using a stepwise forward regression model using skinfold thicknesses, mid-arm
circumference, and age as independent variables, and the body-fat percentage was derived by D₂O dilution
as the dependent variable. The new prediction equations are: body-fat percentage=-69.26+5.76×B-
0.33×T²+5.40×M+0.01×A² for girls and body-fat percentage=-8.75+3.73×B+2.57×S for boys, where B=biceps
skinfold thickness, T=triceps skinfold thickness, and S=suprailiac skinfold thickness all in mm, M=mid-arm
circumference in cm, and A=age in month. Using the D₂O dilution technique, the means (SD) of the calculated
body-fat percentage were 17.11 (7.25) for girls and 16.93 (6.62) for boys and, using the new prediction
equations, these were 17.11 (6.25) for girls and 16.93 (6.02) for boys. The mean of the differences of
paired values in body-fat percentage was zero. The mean (SD) of the differences of paired values for body-fat
percentage derived by the D₂O technique and the new equations, applied on an independent sample of 23
infants (11 girls and 12 boys) were -0.93 (6.56) for girls and 1.14 (2.43) for boys; the 95% confidence limits
of the differences of paired values for body-fat percentage were -2.03 to +3.89 for girls and -0.26 to +2.54
for boys. Given that the trajectories of growth during infancy and childhood are a major risk factor for a
group of diseases in adulthood, including coronary heart disease and diabetes, these predictive equations
should be useful in field studies.

Key words: Anthropometry; Body mass index; D₂O dilution; Fat-mass; Infants; Mid-arm circumference; India

DOI: 10.3329/jhpn.v28i3.5548

J HEALTH POPUL NUTR 2010 Jun;28(3):221-229