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. 2021 Aug 9;13(8):2735.
doi: 10.3390/nu13082735.

Associations of Growth Impairment and Body Composition among South African School-Aged Children Enrolled in the KaziAfya Project

Kurt Z Long  1   2 , Johanna Beckmann  3 , Christin Lang  3 , Harald Seelig  3 , Siphesihle Nqweniso  4 , Nicole Probst-Hensch  1   2 , Ivan Müller  3 , Uwe Pühse  3 , Peter Steinmann  1   2 , Rosa du Randt  4 , Cheryl Walter  4 , Jürg Utzinger  1   2 , Markus Gerber  3
Affiliations

Associations of Growth Impairment and Body Composition among South African School-Aged Children Enrolled in the KaziAfya Project

Kurt Z Long et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

(1) Background: Early childhood malnutrition may result in increased fat mass (FM) among school-aged children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We explored whether South African children with shorter stature have greater overall and abdominal FM compared to normal stature children. (2) Methods: Baseline assessments of body composition and weight were determined among school-aged children enrolled in a randomized controlled trial in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Multiple linear regression models tested associations of children's height and degree of stunting with FM, fat free mass (FFM), truncal fat mass (TrFM), and truncal fat free mass (TrFFM) overall and by sex. (3) Results: A total of 1287 children (619 girls, 668 boys) were assessed at baseline. Reduced child height was associated with higher FM and lower FFM and TrFFM, but these associations were reversed with increases in height. Girls classified as mildly or moderately/severely stunted had higher FM and TrFM but lower FFM and TrFFM, while no association was found for boys. (4) Conclusions: Our study suggests that efforts to reduce the non-communicable disease burden in LMICs should target growth-impaired children who may have greater overall FM and greater abdominal FM.

Keywords: South Africa; body composition; fat mass; height; school-aged children; stunting.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
STROBE-nut flow diagram of children in the South African arm of the KaziAfya project included in the analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association of height with body composition estimates by sex of school-aged children in the South African arm of the KaziAfya project: (a) FM; (b) FFM. Boy formula image; girl formula image.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association of height with body composition estimates by sex of school-aged children in the South African arm of the KaziAfya project: (a) TrFM; (b) TrFFM. Boy formula image; girl formula image.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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