Tracking of abdominal subcutaneous and preperitoneal fat mass during childhood. The Generation R Study

• Published in: International Journal of Obesity Vol. 40; no. 4; pp. 595 - 600
• Main Authors: Vogelezang, S, Gishti, O, Felix, J F, van der Beek, E M, Abrahamse-Berkeveld, M, Hofman, A, Gaillard, R, Jaddoe, V W V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.04.2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/308/174; 692/499; 692/699/2743/393; 692/700/1720; Abdomen; Abdominal Fat - diagnostic imaging; Abdominal muscles; Adipose tissue; Adiposity; Age; Analysis; Body fat; Body Fat Distribution; Body mass index; Body weight; Child; Child, Preschool; Childhood obesity; Children; Cohort analysis; Confidence intervals; Epidemiology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Health Surveys; Humans; Internal Medicine; Intra-Abdominal Fat - diagnostic imaging; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Metabolism; Mortality; Netherlands - epidemiology; Obesity; Obesity - diagnostic imaging; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - pathology; Obesity - prevention & control; original-article; Overweight; Prospective Studies; Public Health; Risk factors; Subcutaneous Fat - diagnostic imaging; Tracking; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonography; Weight Gain; Netherlands
• ISSN: 0307-0565; 1476-5497
• DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2015.252

Background: Overweight and obesity in early life tends to track into later life. Not much is known about tracking of abdominal fat. Our objective was to examine the extent of tracking of abdominal fat measures during the first six years of life. Design: We performed a prospective cohort study among 393 Dutch children followed from the age of 2 years (90% range 1.9; 2.3) until the age of 6 years (90% range 5.7; 6.2). At both ages, we performed abdominal ultrasound to measure abdominal subcutaneous and preperitoneal fat distances and areas, and we calculated the preperitoneal/subcutaneous fat distance ratio. High abdominal fat measures were defined as values in the upper 15%. Results: Abdominal subcutaneous fat distance and area, and preperitoneal fat area at 2 years were correlated with their corresponding measures at 6 years (all P -values <0.01), with the strongest coefficients for abdominal subcutaneous fat measures. Preperitoneal fat distance at the age of 2 years was not correlated with the corresponding measure at 6 years. The tracking coefficient for preperitoneal/subcutaneous fat distance ratio from 2 to 6 years was r =0.36 ( P <0.01). Children with high abdominal subcutaneous fat measures at 2 years had increased risk of having high abdominal subcutaneous fat measures at 6 years (odds ratios 9.2 (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.1–20.8) and 12.4 (95% CI 5.4–28.6) for subcutaneous fat distance and area, respectively). These associations were not observed for preperitoneal fat measures. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that both abdominal subcutaneous and preperitoneal fat mass measures track during childhood, but with stronger tracking for abdominal subcutaneous fat measures. An adverse abdominal fat distribution in early life may have long-term consequences.