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Review
. 2014 Nov;38(8):940-53.
doi: 10.1177/0148607114550189. Epub 2014 Sep 19.

Lean tissue imaging: a new era for nutritional assessment and intervention

Carla M M Prado  1 , Steven B Heymsfield  2
Affiliations
Review

Lean tissue imaging: a new era for nutritional assessment and intervention

Carla M M Prado et al. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2014 Nov.

Erratum in

  • Corrigendum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2016 Jul;40(5):742. doi: 10.1177/0148607116647919. Epub 2016 Apr 26. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2016. PMID: 27208036 Free PMC article.

Abstract

Body composition refers to the amount of fat and lean tissues in our body; it is a science that looks beyond a unit of body weight, accounting for the proportion of different tissues and its relationship to health. Although body weight and body mass index are well-known indexes of health status, most researchers agree that they are rather inaccurate measures, especially for elderly individuals and those patients with specific clinical conditions. The emerging use of imaging techniques such as dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound imaging in the clinical setting have highlighted the importance of lean soft tissue (LST) as an independent predictor of morbidity and mortality. It is clear from emerging studies that body composition health will be vital in treatment decisions, prognostic outcomes, and quality of life in several nonclinical and clinical states. This review explores the methodologies and the emerging value of imaging techniques in the assessment of body composition, focusing on the value of LST to predict nutrition status.

Keywords: CT; DXA; MRI; body composition; imaging; lean body mass; lean soft tissue; nutrition status; osteosarcopenic obesity; sarcopenia; sarcopenic obesity; ultrasound.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures:Baxter Healthcare Corporation and the authors discussed the final content, the authors drafted and revised the manuscript, and Baxter provided a courtesy medical and legal review of the final version, including financial support for The JB Ashtin Group, Inc. The authors had final approval over the content.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Selected molecular and tissue-organ body composition level components. ATFM, adipose-tissue free mass; FFM, fat-free mass; LST, lean soft tissue.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Selected body composition components measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA; left) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; right). Body mass (M) and volume (V) represent the sum of these components for DXA and MRI, respectively. BMC, bone mineral content; IMAT, intermuscular adipose tissue; LST, lean soft tissue; Res, residual mass (organs and tissues remaining after subtracting skeletal muscle, bone, and adipose tissue volumes); SAT, subcutaneous adipose tissue; SM, skeletal muscle; VAT, visceral adipose tissue.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

Further Reading

    1. Baracos VE, Prado CM, Antoun S, Gioulbasanis I. Assessment of nutritional status. In: Del Fabbro E, Baracos V, Demark-Wahnefried W, Bowling T, Hopkinson J, Bruera E, eds. Nutrition and the Cancer Patient. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2010:19-34.
    1. Baumgartner RN. Body composition in healthy aging. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2000;904:437-448. - PubMed
    1. Heymsfield SB. Development of imaging methods to assess adiposity and metabolism. Int J Obes (Lond). 2008;32(suppl 7):S76-S82. - PubMed
    1. Heymsfield SB, Pietrobelli A, Wang Z, Saris WH. The end of body composition methodology research? Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2005; 8(6):591-594. - PubMed
    1. Lang T, Streeper T, Cawthon P, et al. Sarcopenia: etiology, clinical consequences, intervention, and assessment. Osteoporos Int. 2010;21(4):543-559. - PMC - PubMed

References

    1. Prado CM, Siervo M, Mire E, et al. A population-based approach to define body-composition phenotypes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;99(6):1369-1377. - PubMed
    1. Shen W, St-Onge MP, Wang Z, Heymsfield SB. Study of body composition: an overview. In: Heymsfield SB, Lohman T, Wang Z, Going S. eds. Human Body Composition. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2005;3-14.
    1. Wang ZM, Pierson RN, Jr, Heymsfield SB. The five-level model: a new approach to organizing body-composition research. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992;56(1):19-28. - PubMed
    1. Heymsfield SB, Wang Z, Baumgartner RN, Ross R. Human body composition: advances in models and methods. Annu Rev Nutr. 1997;17:527-558. - PubMed
    1. Lohman TG, Chen Z. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. In: Heymsfield SB, Lohman T, Wang Z, Going S, eds. Human Body Composition. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2005;63-78.

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