Upper arm fat and muscle in stunted and non-stunted children aged 0-24 months
Abstract: The prevalence of
stunting in Indonesia is high, with particularly negative impacts on health
during childhood as well as adolescence. Stunting impacts the health of children
as well as adults, especially with
regards to future obesity. Therefore, evaluating body composition of
stunted children before 2 years of age is necessary.
Objective To compare upper arm fat and muscle measurements in stunted and
non-stunted children aged 0-24 months of age.
Methods We analyzed secondary data of the Division of Nutrition and
Metabolic Disease, Department of Child Health, Universitas Gadjah Mada Medical
School, Yogyakarta which were collected using cluster random sampling from the
Yogyakarta Special Province. We compared upper arm fat area (UFA), including
the upper arm fat area estimate (UFE) and the upper arm fat percentage (UFP),
as well as upper arm muscle area (UMA) and upper arm muscle area estimate
(UME), among stunted and non-stunted children aged 0-24 months.
Results We analyzed 2,195 children. The prevalence of stunting was
354/2,195 (16.1%). The UFA, UFE, and UFP among stunted children were
significantly lower compared to non-stunted children aged 7-12 months [UFA:
4.48 vs. 5.05 cm2 (P <0.001), respectively; UFE: 4.88 vs. 5.55 cm2 (P
<0.001), respectively; and UFP: 30.82 vs. 32.58% (P = 0.03), respectively].
The UMA in children aged 7-12 months was also significantly lower in stunted
than in non-stunted children [11.31 vs. 11.79 cm2 (P = 0.02), respectively], as
well as in children aged 13-24 months [11.05 vs. 11.75 cm2 (P <0.001),
respectively]. In addition, the UME in children aged 13-24 months was
significantly lower in stunted compared to non-stunted children [10.50 vs. 11.18
cm2 (P <0.001), respectively].
Conclusion The UFA in children aged 7-12 months is smaller in stunted
than in non-stunted children, whereas UMA in children aged 7-12 months and
13-24 months was smaller in stunted compared to non-stunted children.
Keywords: stunting;
overweight; obesity; upper arm fat area; upper arm muscle area; upper arm fat
percentage
Author: Bagus Winandi Arundito,
Madarina Julia, Neti Nurani, Endy Paryanto Prawirohartono
Journal Code: jpkedokterangg170206
