Elsevier

Metabolism

Volume 26, Issue 6, June 1977, Pages 607-614
Metabolism

Body fat and adipose tissue cellularity in infants: A longitudinal study

https://doi.org/10.1016/0026-0495(77)90082-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Body fat, fat cell size, and fat cell number were determined in a longitudinal study on 16 normal-weight infants during the age period 1–18 mo. The methods used included whole-body counting of 40K for determination of body fat and adipose tissue biopsies. A new method of calculation of body fat in infants is presented. No sex differences were found. Body fat expressed as per cent of body weight increased from 16.2% to 28.1%. From 1 to 12 mo of age the expansion of body fat was explained by an increase in fat cell size, while in the age period 12–18 mo it was mainly due to an increase in fat cell number. At 18 mo the fat cell size was the same as in 8-yr-old girls and 22-yr-old women (normal-weight females previously studied). The fat cell number at 18 mo, however, was far below the number at 8 yr of age, as well as the still higher number of the 22-yr-old women.

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    Supported by grants from the Semper Fund for Nutrition Research, the Swedish Nutrition Foundation, the Swedish Diabetic Association, the Medical Research Council of the Swedish Life Insurances Offices, and Grant B76-19X-251-14B from the Swedish Medical Research Council.

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