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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #223739
Title: Body fat distribution in stunted compared with normal-height children from the shantytowns of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Author
item HOFFMAN, DANIEL - RUTGERS UNIV, NJ
item MARTINS, PAULA - FED UNIV S. PAULO, BRAZIL
item Roberts, Susan
item SAWAYA, ANA - FED UNIV S. PAULO, BRAZIL

Submitted to: Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/5/2007
Publication Date: 9/1/2007
Citation: Hoffman, D.J., Martins, P.A., Roberts, S., Sawaya, A.L. 2007. Body fat distribution in stunted compared with normal-height children from the shantytowns of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Nutrition. 23(9):640-646.

Interpretive Summary: Hundreds of thousands of children in the world are mildly undernourished and growth retarded. At the same time, these children are living in areas of the world where obesity is replacing starvation, a factor of great public health and scientific importance. In addition, many studies report a relationship between growth retardation and later risk for chronic diseases, but few have reported on phenotypes and antecedent physical characteristics associated with chronic diseases in young persons. This paper is one of the first to report that adolescents undernourished in early childhood have increased central fat mass, a characteristic associated with heart disease, compared to healthy peers. The findings of this paper move the field of nutrition and public health forward as we begin to understand the mechanism behind the association between growth retardation and risk for chronic disease.

Technical Abstract: Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether central fat distribution varies between children who were growth retarded as young children, compared to normal height children from the same impoverished communities of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Research methods and procedures: A prospective study of 50 stunted and normal height children in São Paulo, Brazil was conducted in which children were measured for changes in fat mass and fat distribution (using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and anthropometry) and Tanner stage over a 4-year period. Statistical analyses included multiple linear regression to control for confounding factors and Students t-test was used to estimate group differences. Results: At follow-up, stunted children were shorter, weighed less, and had less total fat mass (FM) compared to control children. There were no differences between the two groups with respect to percent fat mass (percent FM) or percent truncal fat mass (percent TrFM). Linear regression analyses were used to determine that stunted children had 1) increased truncal fat mass (independent of FM); 2) increased percent TrFM (independent of FM, gender, and Tanner stage), and 3) a borderline significantly greater change in TrFM (independent of FM, gender, and Tanner stage). Conclusion(s): We conclude that stunted children are more likely to deposit fat centrally when entering puberty, a significant risk factor for chronic diseases. Our results may explain part of the association between early growth retardation and later risk for metabolic diseases.