Author
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Kehayias, Joseph |
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Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 12/7/2005 Publication Date: 12/11/2005 Citation: Kehayias, J.J. 2005. Modern aspects on body composition assessment with emphasis on muscle mass. 8th National Congress on Nutrition and Dietetics. Athens, Greece. December 9-11, 2005:65. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Nutritional status can be evaluated by monitoring changes in body composition, including depletion of protein and muscle, adipose tissue distribution and changes in hydration status, bone or cell mass. The interest in body composition assessment has increased dramatically during the last ten years. Three factors contributed to the recent evolution of this field: 1. The ability of body composition to assess nutritional status and clinical outcome in wasting diseases was first demonstrated with patients suffering from severe, catabolic end-stage acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). 2. New technology made body composition techniques more accessible. The availability of dual energy X-ray (DEXA) absorptiomenters made bone mass and body composition measurements available to a great number of research centers and hospitals. More recently, the advent of new portable devices expanded the use of body composition to include rapid bed-side nutritional assessment. 3. There is a need to evaluate the efficacy of new nutritional interventions, diets and government programs dealing with the loss of protein in the diseased and the elderly or with the epidemic of obesity. It is the goal of any nutritional intervention to preserve the "quality of fat free mass", defined as the content of lean tissue in oxygen consuming cell mass, a factor closely related to muscle and metabolic rate. We will present two approaches to measuring this quality factor. The reference methods, based on in vivo protein and lean tissue measurements, and the field methods based on portable instruments and stable isotopes that can be useful to the clinical dietician and other health care providers. The interaction between the two approaches provides us with simple, validated screening tools and measurable outcomes of nutritional support. |
