Changing guards: time to move beyond Body Mass Index for population monitoring of excess adiposity

With the obesity epidemic, and the effects of aging populations, human phenotypes have changed over two generations, possibly more dramatically than in other species previously. As obesity is an important and growing hazard for population health, we recommend a systematic evaluation of the optimal measure(s) for population-level excess body fat. Ideal measure(s) for monitoring body composition and obesity should be simple, as accurate and sensitive as possible, and provide good categorisation of related health risks. Combinations of anthropometric markers or predictive equations may facilitate better use of anthropometric data than single measures to estimate body composition for populations. Here we provide new evidence that increasing proportions of aging populations are at high health-risk according to waist circumference, but not body mass index (BMI), so continued use of BMI as the principal population-level measure substantially underestimates the health-burden from excess adiposity

Analysis of Human Spleen Contamination

Besides carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, numerous other elements and their compounds are significant in the body of humans and other animals. Accumulation of some elements and their compounds is recognized by clinical and biochemical evaluation. The physical-chemical properties and topical characteristics of elements in tissues may play a crucial role in evaluation their effect on human body. The ^57^Fe Mössbauer measurement was used for evaluation of iron–oxide biomagnetic nanoparticles composition and properties. Absorption spectra of the powdered spleen recorded at 77K and 300K were measured and subsequently analyzed. From fitted data it is possible to obtain material composition as well as discuss the mean particle size (received from decrease hyperfine field in comparison with bulk value)

Arc jet diagnostics tests

Two objectives were addressed during a 10 week 1988 NASA/ASEE summer faculty fellowship at the Johnson Space Center Atmospheric Reentry Materials Structures Evaluation Facility (ARMSEF). These objectives were the evaluation of mass spectrometry for the measurement of atomic and molecular species in an arc jet environment, and the determination of atomic recombination coefficients for reaction cured glass (RCG) coated high temperature surface insulation (HRSI) materials subjected to simulated reentry conditions. Evaluation of mass spectrometry for the measurement of atomic and molecular species provided some of the first measurements of point compositions in arc jet tunnel environments. A major objective of this project centered around the sampling residence time. A three staged vacuum sampling system pulled the molecules and atoms from the arc jet to a quadrupole ionization mass spectrometer in 400 milliseconds. Conditions investigated included a composition survey across the nozzle exit at 3 cm z-distance from the nozzle exit for 3 different currents. Also, a point composition survey was taken around a shock created by the presence of a blunt body

Neonatal anthropometry: a tool to evaluate the nutritional status and predict early and late risks

Neonatal anthropometry is an inexpensive, noninvasive and convenient tool for bedside evaluation, especially in sick and fragile neonates. Anthropometry can be used in neonates as a tool for several purposes: diagnosis of foetal malnutrition and prediction of early postnatal complications; postnatal assessment of growth, body composition and nutritional status; prediction of long-term complications including metabolic syndrome; assessment of dysmorphology; and estimation of body surface. However, in this age group anthropometry has been notorious for its inaccuracy and the main concern is to make validated indices available. Direct measurements, such as body weight, length and body circumferences are the most commonly used measurements for nutritional assessment in clinical practice and in field studies. Body weight is the most reliable anthropometric measurement and therefore is often used alone in the assessment of the nutritional status, despite not reflecting body composition. Derived indices from direct measurements have been proposed to improve the accuracy of anthropometry. Equations based on body weight and length, mid-arm circumference/head circumference ratio, and upper-arm cross-sectional areas are among the most used derived indices to assess nutritional status and body proportionality, even though these indices require further validation for the estimation of body composition in neonates

Simultaneously assess goat fat depots using ultrasound technology (RTU) in association with muliple PLS and ANN models. A network proposal

A recent development to improve the prediction of goat body or carcass composition in small has been made. With the perspective to use a unique model to estimate body composition, based on a reduced number of predictors a model using artificial neural networks was proposed. On this sense the main objective of the present work will be to demonstrate the necessity to organize a world network to build a great database, covering the most relevant carcass and body compositions data, for the most important goat breeds at different maturity degrees and with carcasses that proportionate the development of general, robust, and more reliable models to swiftly assess goat and carcass body compositions, as well as to implement a modern and objective on-line technique for carcass evaluation and marketing classification

Validity of segmental bioelectrical impedance method for body composition assessment in Japanese athletes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validation of body composition assessment method using segmental bioelectrical impedance (S-BIA) method compared with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) method as gold standard method in college athletes. This study used S-BIA (Physion MD, Physion Co. Ltd., Japan) and DEXA (DPX-L, Lunar Co. Ltd., USA). The subjects were 16 athletes (men: 11, women: 5) belonging to the university track and field club. We measured the body composition in a supine state using S-BIA method. The measurement by S-BIA method was fat mass (FM), percent of body fat (%FAT), fat free mass (FFM) in whole body, and skeletal muscle mass (SM) in arms, legs and trunk. In addition, using the DEXA method, we evaluated FM, %Fat, FFM, and SM in the right and left of limbs and trunk. The LTM by the DEXA method was as an index of the SM. The result was as follows. The FFM, FM and %FAT in whole body by S-BIA method were high correlated with the values measured by DXA (p＜0.001–0.05)．In FFM, FM and %FAT there is no systematic error by examination of the validity by the Bland-Altman method, and there are all data in 95% limits of agreement. The SM of each segment by S-BIA method was significantly correlated with the value by DEXA method, and possibility to be able to perform the evaluation of the SM in athletes. Therefore it was suggested that S-BIA method was effective for an evaluation of the whole and segmental body composition in athletes

Extraction and purification of exopolysaccharides from exhausted Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) culture systems

Microalgal endo and exopolysaccharides (EPS) are attracting increasing interest for their potential applications in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The standard applications of microbial EPS are as food coatings, emulsifying and gelling agents, flocculants, hydrating agents etc. They present unique biochemical properties that make them interesting from the biotechnological point of view. Their physical-chemical properties are interesting for biomedical applications, since polysaccharides have been demonstrated to possess inhibitory properties against various types of viruses, bacteria and tumors. The purpose of this work is to upgrade the exhausted culture media resulting from the cultivation of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina), in order to extract the exopolysaccharides excreted by the cyanobacterium and test their exploitation potential in a cosmetic context (a body cream). The study results include: defining the composition and the productivity of EPS by the Spirulina culture, developing a suitable application method for the DPPH assay in lipophilic matrices, and evaluation of the antioxidant action of these polymers in the cosmetic field

Disability, Physical Inactivity, and Impaired Health-Related Quality of Life Are Not Different in Metabolically Healthy vs. Unhealthy Obese Subjects

BACKGROUND: Obesity represents a major health hazard, affecting morbidity, psychological status, physical functionality, quality of life, and mortality. The aim of the present study was to explore the differences between metabolically healthy (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy (MUO) obese subjects with regard to physical activity, disability, and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). METHODS: All subjects underwent a multidimensional evaluation, encompassing the assessment of body composition, metabolic biomarkers and inflammation, physical activity level (IPAQ questionnaire), disability (TSD-OC test), and HR-QoL (SF-36 questionnaire). MHO and MUO were defined based on the absence or the presence of the metabolic syndrome, respectively. RESULTS: 253 subjects were included (54 men and 199 women; age: 51.7 ± 12.8 vs. 50.3 ± 11.7 years, p = 0.46; BMI: 38.1 ± 5.7 vs. 38.9 ± 6.7 kg/m², p = 0.37). No significant difference was observed in body composition. There was no difference between MHO and MUO considering inflammation (hs-CRP: 6517.1 ± 11,409.9 vs. 5294.1 ± 5612.2 g/L; p = 0.37), physical inactivity (IPAQ score below 3000 METs-min/week in 77.6% of MHO vs. 80% of MUO subjects; p = 0.36), obesity-related disability (TSD-OC score > 33%, indicating a high level of obesity-related disability, in 20.2% of MHO vs. 26.5% of MUO subjects; p = 0.28), and the HR-QoL (SF-36 total score: 60 ± 20.8 vs. 62.8 ± 18.2, p = 0.27). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:The metabolic comorbidity and the impairment of functional ability and psycho-social functioning may have a different timing in the natural history of obesity. Alterations in the physical activity level and mobility disabilities may precede the onset of metabolic abnormalities. (Trial registration 2369 prot 166/12-registered 23 February 2012; Amendment 223/14-registered 13 February 2014)

Body mass index is not a reliable tool to predict obesity in postmenopausal women

The aim of this study was to compare two methods of body composition evaluation in postmenopausal women, and establish correlations with the Body Mass Index (BMI). Twenty seven postmenopausal women (58.03±5.33) were evaluated by two body composition methods: Bioimpedance (Biodynamics 310) and Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA). Results of the fat mass showed by the DXA was 38.21±7.46% of the body mass, and 39.05±4.40% by the Bioimpedance, with 0.76 of correlation (Perason’s correlation test). In the other hand, the BMI found was 28.08±4.90. There was a high correlation between DXA and Bioimpedance; however low correlation between DXA and Bioimpedance with BMI. When the body composition classification was made by the BMI, subjects were classified as overweight. In the other hand, DXA and Bioimpedance classified subjects as obese. The main conclusion of this study was that BMI is not a reliable index to classify and determine levels of obesity. Bioimpedance appear to be a satisfactory method to predict body composition in postmenopausal women, since it was observed a significant correlation with the gold standard method for body composition DXA