Changes in skinfold thicknesses and body mass index in 171 children, initially 1 to 5 years of age: a 5 1/2-year follow-up study

Abstract

Changes in skinfold thicknesses and BMI were investigated in 171 children aged 1-5 years in 1978 and 5 1/2 years later aged 6-10 years in 1984. Tracking in skinfold thicknesses or body fatness and BMI was determined using the correlation coefficients between these variables in 1978 and 1984. Body fatness tracking was higher in girls than in boys. There were no marked differences between skinfold correlations from sites of the trunk and those from the extremities. Generally, about 50 percent of the variation in skinfold thicknesses in girls aged 6-10 years was associated with skinfold thicknesses 5 1/2 years before. In boys, only about 5 percent of the variation of skinfold thicknesses at ages 6-10 years could be explained by values 5 1/2 years before. There was no marked sex difference in BMI tracking. Initially fatter girls showed higher skinfold thickness tracking than initially leaner girls. Parental fatness level and social class were both related to changes in skinfold thicknesses. Children who became relatively fatter in 5 1/2 years had fatter mothers than children who became relatively leaner. Relatively more children of the lower social class became fatter than children of the higher social class. However, parental fatness level and social class were not in a simple additive way related to changes in skinfold thicknesses.