Newborn size, infant and childhood growth, and body composition and cardiovascular disease risk factors at the age of 6 years: the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study.

OBJECTIVE: To study associations of size and body proportions at birth, and growth during infancy and childhood, to body composition and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors at the age of 6 years. DESIGN: The Pune Maternal Nutrition Study, a prospective population-based study of maternal nutrition and CVD risk in rural Indian children. METHODS: Body composition and CVD risk factors measured in 698 children at 6 years were related to body proportions and growth from birth. MEASUREMENTS: Anthropometry was performed every 6 months from birth. At 6 years, fat and lean mass (dual X-ray absorptiometry) and CVD risk factors (insulin resistance, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, plasma lipids) were measured. RESULTS: Compared with international references (NCHS, WHO) the children were short, light and thin (mean weight <-1.0 s.d. at all ages). Larger size and faster growth in all body measurements from birth to 6 years predicted higher lean and fat mass at 6 years. Weight and height predicted lean mass more strongly than fat mass, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) predicted them both approximately equally and skinfolds predicted only fat mass. Neither birthweight nor the 'thin-fat' newborn phenotype, was related to CVD risk factors. Smaller MUAC at 6 months predicted higher insulin resistance (P<0.001) but larger MUAC at 1 year predicted higher systolic blood pressure (P<0.001). After infancy, higher weight, height, MUAC and skinfolds, and faster growth of all these parameters were associated with increased CVD risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Slower muscle growth in infancy may increase insulin resistance but reduce blood pressure. After infancy larger size and faster growth of all body measurements are associated with a more adverse childhood CVD risk factor profile. These rural Indian children are growing below international 'norms' for body size and studies are required in other populations to determine the generalizability of the findings.

Body fat measurement in Indian men: comparison of three methods based on a two-compartment model.

UNLABELLED: Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes and related disorders. The current classification of obesity is based on body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)), which is a surrogate for the total body fat. Since the relationship between BMI and body fat varies in different populations, an independent validation of the BMI-body fat relationship in the population of interest is desirable. OBJECTIVES: (1) To study the validity of field methods of measuring body fat (multiple skinfolds and bioimpedance) against a criterion method (deuterium dilution) and (2) To compare the prevalence of obesity (WHO 2000 criteria for BMI) with adiposity (body fat >25%) in middle-aged Indian men in rural and urban Pune. DESIGN: Community-based multistage stratified random sampling of middle-aged men from rural and urban Pune for study of body composition and cardiovascular risk. A third of these men, selected to represent wide BMI distribution, were studied for body fat measurements by specific methods. SUBJECTS: A total of 141 healthy men, approximately similar number from rural, urban slums and middle class from Pune. They were 39.3 (+/-6.2) y old and had a BMI of 21.9 (+/-3.7) kg/m(2). MEASUREMENTS: Anthropometry (height, weight and multiple skinfold thicknesses) by trained observers using standardised technique to calculate body fat by Durnin and Womersley's equation. Total body water and body fat by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and deuterium oxide dilution (D(2)O). RESULTS: Mean total body fat was 14.3 kg (23.0%) by anthropometry, 16.5 kg (26.0%) by BIA and 15.3 kg (24.6%) by D(2)O method. Although there was a good correlation between fat estimation by three methods (r= approximately 0.9, P<0.001 all), compared to D(2)O method anthropometry underestimated body fat by 1.0 kg and BIA overestimated fat by 1.2 kg (P<0.001 both). Using the standard cut-point of 25% body fat for 'adiposity' 29.5% rural, 46.0% slum and 75.0% middle class men were adipose. These proportions were considerably higher than the number of men who were 'preobese' (BMI> or =25-29.9 kg/m(2), 9.0% rural, 22.0% urban slums and 27.0% urban middle class) and 'obese' (BMI >30 kg/m(2), 4.0% urban slums, none in rural and urban middle class). CONCLUSION: We recommend that future studies assessing risk for chronic diseases in Indians should measure adiposity by anthropometry (multiple skinfolds) or BIA (calibrated for Indians) rather than relying only on BMI cut-points.