Body composition of 4- and 5-year-old New Zealand girls: a DXA study of initial adiposity and subsequent 4-year fat change

BACKGROUND: Dual-energy X-ray information (DXA) quantitating body fat mass and percentage fat in healthy children of preschool age is scarce. OBJECTIVE: To study the initial variability in body composition and subsequent longitudinalchanges in absolute fat mass (kg) and relative adiposity (fat percentage) in a sample of contemporary young New Zealand girls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with a longitudinal component. SETTING: University research unit. SUBJECTS: A total of 89 Caucasian girls aged 4-5 y were recruited by advertisement at baseline and 4-y changes in body composition were evaluated in 23 of these girls. METHODS: Total body composition was measured by DXA, height and weight by anthropometry. RESULTS: Baseline values for fat mass varied more than values for lean mass or bone mass. Girls from the upper third of our fat percentage distribution (% fat >19.2%) had more than twice the fat mass (5.34 vs 2.31 kg, P