Longitudinal fat mass and visceral fat during the first 6 months after birth in healthy infants: support for a critical window for adiposity in early life

Summary Introduction Body composition in early life influences the development of obesity during childhood and beyond. It is, therefore, important to adequately determine longitudinal body composition during the first months of life. Patients and methods In 203 healthy term infants, we investigated longitudinal body composition, including fat mass percentage (FM%) and fat‐free mass (FFM), by air‐displacement plethysmography, at 1, 3 and 6 months of age and abdominal visceral fat and abdominal subcutaneous fat, by ultrasound, at 3 and 6 months. Results We found a significant increase in FM% between 1 and 3 months but not between 3 and 6 months (p