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  • Original Article
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One million skinfolds: secular trends in the fatness of young people 1951–2004

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 63, pages 934–946 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

There are abundant data on secular trends in the body mass index (BMI) of children. However, BMI is an imperfect index of fatness, whereas skinfold thicknesses provide a more direct measure. This study aims to meta-analyse historical studies of triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses in young people aged 0–18 years in developed countries.

Subjects/Methods:

A total of 154 studies conducted between 1951 and 2003 were analysed, covering 2390 reports at the age × sex × country level, and more than 458 547 young people from 30 developed countries. Percentage body fat (% BF) was estimated using the Slaughter equations. The distribution of fat on the body was indexed by the triceps/subscapular (T/S) ratio. The skewness of skinfold distributions was operationalized by the coefficient of variation and the mean−median difference.

Results:

There have been increases in triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses, at the rate of 0.4–0.5 mm per decade over the period 1951–2003. % BF has been increasing at the rate of 0.9% BF per decade. The distribution of fat on the body, as indexed by the triceps/subscapular (T/S) ratio, has become more central. There has been an increasing positive skew in the distribution of subcutaneous fat thickness in the population.

Conclusions:

These trends describe very unfavourable changes in the body composition of young people, foreshadowing a potential increase in the incidence of cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sansom Institute, School of Health Sciences, Physical Education, Exercise and Sport Studies, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    T S Olds

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  1. T S Olds
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Correspondence to T S Olds.

Appendices

Appendix

Table A1

Table 2 Table a1
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Olds, T. One million skinfolds: secular trends in the fatness of young people 1951–2004. Eur J Clin Nutr 63, 934–946 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2009.7

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