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. 2023 May;42(3):340-348.
doi: 10.23876/j.krcp.22.062. Epub 2023 May 16.

Body water percentage from childhood to old age

Hong Lu  1 , Eric Ayers  2 , Pragnesh Patel  3 , Tej K Mattoo  1
Affiliations

Body water percentage from childhood to old age

Hong Lu et al. Kidney Res Clin Pract. 2023 May.

Abstract

Background: Total body water (TBW) increases with growth, but the body water percentage (TBW%) decreases with aging. The objective of our study was to delineate TBW% in males and females by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) from early childhood to old age.

Methods: We enrolled 545 participants aged 3 to 98 years (258 male, 287 female). Among the participants, 256 had a normal weight and 289 were overweight. The TBW was measured by BIA, and TBW% was derived by dividing the TBW (L) value by body weight (kg). For analysis, we divided participants into the four age groups of 3-10, 11-20, 21-60, and ≥61 years.

Results: In normal-weight subjects, the TBW% was similar at 62% between males and females in the 3-10-year group. It remained unchanged in males until and through adult life, then decreased to 57% in the ≥61-year group. In normal-weight female subjects, the TBW% decreased to 55% in the 11-20-year group, remained relatively unaltered in the 21-60-year group, then decreased to 50% in the ≥61-year group. In overweight subjects, the TBW% values in males, as well as females, were significantly lower as compared to those with normal weight.

Conclusion: Our study showed that the TBW% in normal-weight males changes very little from early childhood to adult life compared to that of females, who showed a decrease in TBW% during the pubertal years. In normal-weight subjects of both sexes, the TBW% decreased after the age of 60 years. Overweight subjects had significantly lower TBW% as compared to those with normal weight.

Keywords: Aged; All ages; Bioelectrical impedance analysis; Body water; Child; Obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Trends in TBW (L) per BW (kg) at various age groups.
BW, body weight; NW, normal weight; EW, excessive weight including overweight and obesity; TBW, total body water.
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