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. 2024 Mar;34(3):799-806.
doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2023.12.014. Epub 2023 Dec 19.

Predictors of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue and muscle density: The ShapeUp! Kids study

Gertraud Maskarinec  1 , Yurii Shvetsov  2 , Michael C Wong  2 , Devon Cataldi  2 , Jonathan Bennett  2 , Andrea K Garber  3 , Steven D Buchthal  2 , Steven B Heymsfield  4 , John A Shepherd  2
Affiliations

Predictors of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue and muscle density: The ShapeUp! Kids study

Gertraud Maskarinec et al. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Background and aims: Body fat distribution, i.e., visceral (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and intramuscular fat, is important for disease prevention, but sex and ethnic differences are not well understood. Our aim was to identify anthropometric, demographic, and lifestyle predictors for these outcomes.

Methods and results: The cross-sectional ShapeUp!Kids study was conducted among five ethnic groups aged 5-18 years. All participants completed questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, and abdominal MRI scans. VAT and SAT areas at four lumbar levels and muscle density were assessed manually. General linear models were applied to estimate coefficients of determination (R2) and to compare the fit of VAT and SAT prediction models. After exclusions, the study population had 133 male and 170 female participants. Girls had higher BMI-z scores, waist circumference (WC), and SAT than boys but lower VAT/SAT and muscle density. SAT, VAT, and VAT/SAT but not muscle density differed significantly by ethnicity. R2 values were higher for SAT than VAT across groups and improved slightly after adding WC. For SAT, R2 increased from 0.85 to 0.88 (girls) and 0.62 to 0.71 (boys) when WC was added while VAT models improved from 0.62 to 0.65 (girls) and 0.57 to 0.62 (boys). VAT values were significantly lower among Blacks than Whites with little difference for the other groups.

Conclusion: This analysis in a multiethnic population identified BMI-z scores and WC as the major predictors of MRI-derived SAT and VAT and highlights the important ethnic differences that need to be considered in diverse populations.

Keywords: Adolescents; Children; Ethnicity; MRI; Muscle density; Obesity; Visceral fat.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests None of the authors have a conflict of interest to declare

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Comparison of Median SAT and VAT Values at L2/L3 by Age for Published Reference Data by Marunowski et al. 2021 [10] and ShapeUpKids (SUK)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mean SAT and VAT Values by Location of Measurement at Four inter-vertebral Sections (L1–L2, L2–L3, L3–L4, and L4–L5)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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