Abstract
BACKGROUND: The first 2 years of a child's life are a particularly critical time period for obesity prevention.
AIM: An increasing amount of research across the world is aimed at understanding factors that impact early childhood obesity and developing interventions that target these factors effectively. With this growing interest, new and interdisciplinary research teams are developing to meet this research need. Due to rapid growth velocity during this phase of the lifespan, typical assessments used in older populations may not be valid or applicable in infants, and investigators need to be aware of the pros and cons of specific methodological strategies.
METHODS: This paper provides an overview of methodology available to assess obesity-related factors in the areas of anthropometry and body composition, nutrient intake, and energy expenditure in infants aged 0-2 years.
RESULTS: Gold standard measures for body composition, such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or other imaging techniques, are costly, require highly trained personnel, and are limited for research application. Nutrient intake methodology primarily includes surveys and questionnaires completed via parent proxy report. In terms of energy expenditure, methods of calorimetry are expensive and may not differentiate between different activities. Questionnaires or physical activity sensors offer another way of energy expenditure assessment. However, questionnaires have a certain recall bias, while the sensors require further validation.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, in addition to understanding the pros and cons of each assessment tool, researchers should take into consideration the experience of the interdisciplinary team of investigators, as well as the cost and availability of measures at their institution.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 47-59 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Nutrition and health |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 1 2018 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Nutrition and Dietetics
Cite this
An overview of assessment methodology for obesity-related variables in infants at risk. / Dinkel, Danae; Hanson, Corrine; Koehler, Karsten; Berry, Ann Anderson; Kyvelidou, Anastasia; Bice, Matthew; Wallen, Jill; Bagenda, Danstan; Jana, Laura; Pressler, Jana.
In: Nutrition and health, Vol. 24, No. 1, 01.03.2018, p. 47-59.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - An overview of assessment methodology for obesity-related variables in infants at risk
AU - Dinkel, Danae
AU - Hanson, Corrine
AU - Koehler, Karsten
AU - Berry, Ann Anderson
AU - Kyvelidou, Anastasia
AU - Bice, Matthew
AU - Wallen, Jill
AU - Bagenda, Danstan
AU - Jana, Laura
AU - Pressler, Jana
PY - 2018/3/1
Y1 - 2018/3/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: The first 2 years of a child's life are a particularly critical time period for obesity prevention.AIM: An increasing amount of research across the world is aimed at understanding factors that impact early childhood obesity and developing interventions that target these factors effectively. With this growing interest, new and interdisciplinary research teams are developing to meet this research need. Due to rapid growth velocity during this phase of the lifespan, typical assessments used in older populations may not be valid or applicable in infants, and investigators need to be aware of the pros and cons of specific methodological strategies.METHODS: This paper provides an overview of methodology available to assess obesity-related factors in the areas of anthropometry and body composition, nutrient intake, and energy expenditure in infants aged 0-2 years.RESULTS: Gold standard measures for body composition, such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or other imaging techniques, are costly, require highly trained personnel, and are limited for research application. Nutrient intake methodology primarily includes surveys and questionnaires completed via parent proxy report. In terms of energy expenditure, methods of calorimetry are expensive and may not differentiate between different activities. Questionnaires or physical activity sensors offer another way of energy expenditure assessment. However, questionnaires have a certain recall bias, while the sensors require further validation.CONCLUSIONS: Overall, in addition to understanding the pros and cons of each assessment tool, researchers should take into consideration the experience of the interdisciplinary team of investigators, as well as the cost and availability of measures at their institution.
AB - BACKGROUND: The first 2 years of a child's life are a particularly critical time period for obesity prevention.AIM: An increasing amount of research across the world is aimed at understanding factors that impact early childhood obesity and developing interventions that target these factors effectively. With this growing interest, new and interdisciplinary research teams are developing to meet this research need. Due to rapid growth velocity during this phase of the lifespan, typical assessments used in older populations may not be valid or applicable in infants, and investigators need to be aware of the pros and cons of specific methodological strategies.METHODS: This paper provides an overview of methodology available to assess obesity-related factors in the areas of anthropometry and body composition, nutrient intake, and energy expenditure in infants aged 0-2 years.RESULTS: Gold standard measures for body composition, such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or other imaging techniques, are costly, require highly trained personnel, and are limited for research application. Nutrient intake methodology primarily includes surveys and questionnaires completed via parent proxy report. In terms of energy expenditure, methods of calorimetry are expensive and may not differentiate between different activities. Questionnaires or physical activity sensors offer another way of energy expenditure assessment. However, questionnaires have a certain recall bias, while the sensors require further validation.CONCLUSIONS: Overall, in addition to understanding the pros and cons of each assessment tool, researchers should take into consideration the experience of the interdisciplinary team of investigators, as well as the cost and availability of measures at their institution.
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U2 - 10.1177/0260106017732268
DO - 10.1177/0260106017732268
M3 - Review article
VL - 24
SP - 47
EP - 59
JO - Nutrition and Health
JF - Nutrition and Health
SN - 0260-1060
IS - 1
ER -