Ultrasound measurements of subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness show sexual dimorphism in children of three to five years of age
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Aim: A standard approach to measure subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) using ultrasound has proved successful in adults, but has not been studied in children. This study addressed that gap in children aged three to five years. Methods: In autumn 2016, 24 preschools in Southwest Germany, recruited via mail, agreed to take part in this study and 274 children (51.4% boys) with a mean age of 4.6 ± 0.7 years participated in measurements of SAT and anthropometry. Differences in measurements were explored between the sexes and anthropometric predictors of mean SAT thickness were identified. Intra‐observer reliability for ultrasound measurements of SAT was also assessed. Results: The mean SAT thickness showed significant differences between the boys and girls (5.3 ± 2.0 and 6.3 ± 2.0 mm, respectively, p < 0.01). The children's body mass, height and sex explained 66% of the variance in the mean SAT thickness, as SAT was larger with a higher body mass, a smaller stature and in girls. Intra‐observer reliability resulted in an intra‐class correlation coefficient of 0.994 (p < 0.01) with a 95% confidence interval of 0.983–0.998. Conclusion: Subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness differed between boys and girls with a mean age of 4.6 years. Intra‐observer reliability was excellent. This standardised approach enabled high‐precision measurements of SAT in a paediatric population.
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Boys and girls demonstrate differences in a range of physical characteristics, including body composition and skinfold thickness, height, and explosive strength, even before puberty, suggesting that sex chromosome composition plays a role in determining differences in adult athletic performance.
“Boys and girls demonstrate differences in a range of physical characteristics, including body composition and skinfold thickness [64], height, and explosive strength, even before puberty [65], suggesting that sex chromosome composition plays a role in determining differences in adult athletic performance.”
From Integrating Transwomen and Female Athletes with Differences of Sex Development (DSD) into Elite Competition: The FIMS 2021 Consensus Statement (2021) · cites this paper as [64]
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- Authors
- Kelso, A., Vogel, K., & Steinacker, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Universität Ulm (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Kelso, Anne
- Venue
- Acta Paediatrica
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-08-07
- Volume
- 108
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 514-521
- ISSN
- 0365-1436 (ISSN-L)
- 0803-5253
- 1651-2227
- PMC
- PMC6585817
- OpenAlex
- W2855440247
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 1.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Acta Paediatrica (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Baden-Württemberg Stiftung
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Disease and Adiposity
- Keywords
- subcutaneous fat thickness, ultrasonic measurement, sexual dimorphism, preschool children, anthropometry, body mass, height, intra-rater reliability
- MeSH terms
- Anthropometry, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Male, Sex Characteristics, Ultrasonography, Subcutaneous Fat
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