Measurement Issues Related to Studies of Childhood Obesity: Assessment of Body Composition, Body Fat Distribution, Physical Activity, and Food Intake

Pediatrics. 1998;101(Suppl 2):505-518

This article is part of a 1998 supplement to the journal Pediatrics “The Causes and Health Consequences of Obesity in Children and Adolescents.”

Abstract: This article reviews the current status of various methodologies used in obesity and nutrition research in children, with particular emphasis on identifying priorities for research needs. The focus of this article is 1) to review methodologic aspects involved with measurement of body composition, body-fat distribution, energy expenditure and substrate use, physical activity, and food intake in children; and 2) to present an inventory of research priorities.

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All Articles in This Supplement

• Overweight Children and Adolescents: Description, Epidemiology, and Demographics (Troiano RP, Flegal KM, pp. 497-504)
• Measurement Issues Related to Studies of Childhood Obesity: Assessment of Body Composition, Body Fat Distribution, Physical Activity, and Food Intake (Goran MI, pp. 505-518)
• Health Consequences of Obesity in Youth: Childhood Predictors of Adult Disease (Dietz WH, pp. 518-525)
• The Physiology of Body Weight Regulation: Relevance to the Etiology of Obesity in Children (Rosenbaum M, Leibel RL, pp. 525-539)
• Development of Eating Behaviors Among Children and Adolescents (Birch LL, Fisher JO, pp. 539-549)
• Development of Physical Activity Behaviors Among Children and Adolescents (Kohl HW, Hobbs KE, pp. 549-554)
• Treatment of Pediatric Obesity (Epstein LH, Myers MD, Raynor HA, Saelens BE, pp. 554-570)
• Childhood Obesity: Future Directions and Research Priorities (Hill JO, Trowbridge FL, pp. 570-574)