RT Journal Article
T1 Development of subcutaneous fat in Spanish and Latin American children and adolescents: Reference values for biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac skinfolds
A1 Marrodán Serrano, María Dolores
A1 González-Montero de Espinosa, Marisa
A1 Herráez, Ángel
A1 Alfaro, Emma L.
A1 Bejarano, Ignacio F.
A1 Carmenate, María Margarita
A1 Lomaglio, Delia  Beatriz
A1 López Ejeda, Noemí
A1 Martínez, Antonio
A1 Mesa Santurino, María Soledad
A1 Méndez Pérez, Betty
A1 Meléndez, Juana María
A1 Moreno-Romero, Susana
A1 Pacheco, José Luis
A1 Vázquez, Vanessa
A1 Dipierri, José E.
AB Subcutaneous fat skinfolds represent a reliable assessment instrument of adiposity status. This study provides current percentile references for four subcutaneous skinfolds (biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac) applicable to children and adolescents in Spain and in Latin American countries where data are scarce. The design consisted of a cross-sectional multicenter study performed with identical methods in 5 countries (Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Spain and Venezuela). Total sample comprised 9163 children and youths (boys 4615 - girls 4548) aged 6–18 years, healthy and without apparent pathologies. Percentiles 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90, 95 and 97 were calculated by the LMS method. Sexual dimorphism was assessed using the t-test and age differences with ANOVA. Normalized growth percentile references were obtained according to sex and age for each skinfold. The mean values of four skinfolds were significantly greater in girls than boys (p < 0.001) and, in both sexes, all skinfolds show statistical differences through age (p < 0.001) with different magnitudes. Except triceps in girls, peaks between 11 and 12 years of age are more noticeable in boys than in girls. Although the general model of growth is known, the skinfold measurements show variability among populations and differences of magnitude are presented according to the analyzed population. Therefore, these age and sex-specific reference percentile values for biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac skinfolds, derived from a large sample of Spanish and Latin American children and adolescents, are a useful tool for adiposity diagnosis in this population for which no reference values were available.
PB Elsevier
SN 0018-442X, ESSN: 1618-1301
YR 2017
FD 2017
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/18322
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/18322
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (MCYT)
NO National University of Jujuy, National Agency for Scientific and Technological Promotion, Argentina
DS Docta Complutense
RD 9 abr 2025