Interrelationships between body size, body composition and function.
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Adipose Tissue↗
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Bill size, body size, and the ecological adaptations of bird species to competitive situations on islands.
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Adaptation, Biological↗
Body size, body form, and nutritional intake of Black girls age 9 years living in rural and urban regions of eastern North Carolina.
Anthropometric and dietary data were obtained on 78 rural and 66 urban Black girls age 9 years residing in eastern North Carolina. Direct measures were taken of standing height, sitting height, upper limb length, arm girth, calf girth, and body weight. Body form indices were derived for arm girth in percentage of upper limb length, calf girth in percentage of lower limb length, and lower limb length in percentage of sitting height. Intakes of protein and calories were estimated from 24-hour dietary recall protocols. Rural girls, on average, had shorter upper and lower limbs than urban girls. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein intake was met by almost all subjects. More than 60% of both rural and urban girls were below the RDA for calorie intake, and about 40% below the RDA for vitamin A intake.
Anthropometry↗
Report of the IDECG Working Group on effects of IUGR on infants, children and adolescents: immunocompetence, mortality, morbidity, body size, body composition, and physical performance.
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Adolescent↗
Critical weight in the development of insect body size.
Body size is one of the most important life history characters of organisms, yet little is known of the physiological mechanisms that regulate either body size or variation in body size. Here, we examined one of these mechanisms, the critical weight, which is defined as the minimal mass at which further growth is not necessary for a normal time course to pupation. The critical weight occurred at 55% of peak larval mass in laboratory-reared larvae of the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta. We examined the effects of genetic and environmental variation in the critical weight on body size. As in many other insects, Manduca larvae reared on poor diets were smaller and those reared at lower temperatures were larger than control animals. We demonstrated that the critical weight was lower on low quality diets but did not change with temperature. There was significant genetic variation for body size, for plasticity of body size, and for critical weight, but not for plasticity of critical weight. Variation in the critical weight accounted for 73% of between-family variance in peak larval size, whereas plasticity of critical weight was not significantly correlated with plasticity of body size. Our results suggest that although critical weight is an important factor in determining body size and enabling the evolution of body size, it may, at the same time, act as a constraint on the evolution of plasticity of body size. Thus, the determinants of body size and the determinants of plasticity of body size do not need to be identical.
Animals↗
Morphometric studies in inbred and hybrid house mice. VIII. Effects of litter size on brain size and body size.
Litter size, brain size, and body size were examined in inbred and hybrid house mice of three different ages in order to test whether litter size exhibits a positive genetic, but negative environmental association with both brain and body size. As estimated from among-line covariation, litter size showed a positive, but non-significant genetical association with brain and body size. It also showed a significant, negative environmental association with brain and body size, as hypothesized. Over all inbreds and hybrids, litter size explained 8% and 14%, respectively, of the within-strain (environmental) variation in brain and body size. It was concluded that the negative phenotypic association of litter size with brain size and especially body size is the reflection of a well-known negative maternal environmental effect whereby mice with large body sizes tend to produce larger litters of mice with smaller body sizes.
Animals↗
Mirror feedback and judgments of body size.
Body size perception was measured in 44 obese and normal weight subjects using a video TV methodology. Subjects performed a task whereby they manipulated the size of their body image on a TV screen. Subjects viewed their images in the presence and absence of a full length mirror. Subjects were more accurate judging body size with the mirror present. Subjects also responded more slowly and made more adjustments of their body image when the mirror was present. No differences between obese and normal weight subjects were found. Ramifications of the findings for individuals who diet are discussed.
Body Constitution↗
The associations of body size and body composition with left ventricular mass: impacts for indexation in adults.
OBJECTIVES: We investigated the relationship between body size, body composition and left ventricular mass (LVM) in adults, and assessed the impact of different indexations of LVM on its associations with gender, adiposity and blood pressure. BACKGROUND: The best way to normalize LVM for body size to appropriately distinguish physiologic adaptation from morbid heart morphology was discussed. METHODS: We undertook a community survey of 653 men and 718 women, aged 25 to 74 years. Lean body mass (LBM) was determined by bioelectric impedance analyses and LVM was assessed by two-dimensional guided M-mode echocardiography. RESULTS: After traditional indexations to body height, body height2.7, or body surface area, men had higher LVM than women (p < 0.001). These gender differences disappeared (p > 0.05) when LVM was indexed to LBM. The type of indexation also modified the strength of the association between adiposity and LVM. The estimated impact of body fat on LVM indexed to LBM was less than half that obtained with traditional indexations. In contrast, the magnitude of the associations of blood pressure with LVM was entirely independent of the type of indexation. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the prominent influence of body composition on adult heart size. Indexation for LBM removed gender differences for LVM and reduced the impact of adiposity, but left the effects of blood pressure unchanged. We suggest that this approach be used for clinical and research applications.
Adaptation, Physiological↗
Body size and body shape: perceptions of black women with diabetes.
PURPOSE: This qualitative study was conducted to explore perceptions of body size and shape in a group of black women with Type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Thirty-three black women with Type 2 diabetes participated in one of three focus groups to discuss perceptions about body size and body shape. Transcriptions of the discussion were analyzed for themes of participants' perceptions about their bodies, their ideas about body size and body shape, and personal and environmental influences on their preferences about size and shape. RESULTS: Participants preferred a middle-to-small body size but indicated that a middle-to-large body size was healthier. They also said that a large body size did result in some untoward social consequences. Participants preferred a pear-shaped body (a figure without abdominal adiposity). The three major influences on body image perceptions were children, parents, and the media. CONCLUSIONS: With these findings in mind, diabetes education programs that are geared for black women may benefit from the inclusion of key family members. Additionally, the importance of body image perceptions should be recognized in the design and implementation of weight-related diabetes education programs.
Adult↗
A new ecologically valid method to assess body size estimation and body size dissatisfaction.
OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of the present study was to develop an ecologically valid method for assessing the perception of body size (as opposed to the memory of body size). METHOD: Women with clinical eating disorders (N = 14) and no eating disorder (N = 24) estimated their actual and desired body size while looking in a mirror. Estimations were made using projected images that were the same height as the participants' reflections in the mirror. RESULTS: This new method assessed the perception of body size under conditions that resembled the real-life situation of viewing oneself in a mirror. Participants with eating disorders significantly overestimated their body size relative to controls (p <.05) and tended to be more dissatisfied with their body size (p =.07). DISCUSSION: It is argued that the new method assesses the perception of body size, is ecologically valid, and is the most clinically relevant of the methods developed to date.
Adult↗
Children's perceptions of their current and ideal body sizes and body mass index.
244 Australian schoolchildren aged between 8 and 12 years indicated their current and ideal body sizes by means of Collins' pictorial figures. Children's height and weight were also measured. Body-mass indices were calculated from these data, and percentile ranks estimated according to international reference data. Consistent with Collins' findings, 39% of girls and 26% of boys wanted to be thinner than they perceived themselves to be; however, this desire was strongly related to actual body size so the percentages were very different for weight categories established on the basis of Body Mass Index. In the overweight quartile, 76% of girls and 56% of boys wanted to be thinner, whereas in the underweight quartile only 10% of girls and no boys wanted to be thinner. The response of overweight children may be sensible, but the desire of some underweight girls to be even thinner is of concern. Some recent literature suggests that underweight individuals tend to overestimate their body sizes. About a half of our underweight children slightly overestimated their body sizes but only one child overestimated grossly.
Body Constitution↗
Relation of endometrial cancer risk to past and contemporary body size and body fat distribution.
In a multicenter case-control study that included 403 cases and 297 controls, we examined the relation of past and contemporary body size, including body fat distribution, to the risk of endometrial cancer. The relative contributions of past and contemporary body size were assessed by examining weight and height histories provided by the subjects. Anthropometric indicators thought to reflect early environmental influences (e.g., height and sitting height), current weight, and fat distribution patterns were measured directly. Height was not a risk factor for endometrial cancer, but inexplicably, sitting height was inversely associated with risk. Weight during early adulthood appeared to be directly related to disease risk, but the association was explained by contemporary weight and thus weight gain during adulthood. While contemporary weight was associated with risk of endometrial cancer, the effect was restricted to those in the top quartile. Women whose measured weight at interview exceeded 78 kg had 2.3 times the risk of those weighing less than 58 kg (95% confidence interval, 1.4 to 3.7). Upper-body obesity (waist-to-thigh circumference ratio) was a risk factor independent of body weight. After adjustment for weight, the relative risks of endometrial cancer across increasing quartiles of upper-body obesity were 1.0, 1.5, 1.8, and 2.6 (P for trend < 0.001). These data indicate that both obesity and the distribution of adipose tissue accumulated during adult life increase endometrial cancer risk substantially.
Adipose Tissue↗
Evolutionary implications of the relationship between genome size and body size in flatworms and copepods.
Genome and body sizes were measured in 38 species of turbellarian flatworms and 16 species of copepod crustaceans. Significant positive relationships existed between genome size and body size in both groups. The slopes of these regressions indicated that increases in cell volume are reinforced by increased cell numbers, or that cell volumes show positive allometric variation with genome size. Genome sizes appear to vary in a discontinuous fashion among congeneric species in both groups, indicating that such changes have occurred rapidly, and with potentially profound effects on important morphological characters.
Animals↗
New estimates of early hominid body size.
Body weights for 12 early hominid specimens are estimated based on an analysis of four variables shown to have high correlation with body size in living Old World primates. Average size estimates of around 36 kg are suggested for gracile early hominids and around 59 kg for robust early hominids. Size variation is considerably more pronounced in the robust group than in the gracile group, suggesting substantially greater sexual dimorphism in the former.
Animals↗
Effect of body size and body composition on survival in peritoneal dialysis patients.
BACKGROUND: Using 24-hour urinary creatinine excretion as a measure of muscle mass, we examined whether body composition influences the survival of incident peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. We hypothesized that patients with high body mass index (BMI) and low muscle mass might be considered to have high levels of body fat. METHODS: Using serum creatinines and creatinine clearances reported on Medical Evidence Form 2728, 24-hour urinary creatinine was calculated in 10 140 incident PD patients with normal (18.5 - 24.9 kg/m2) or high (> or = 25 kg/m2) BMI. Patients were classified as low and normal/high muscle mass groups based on the 25th percentile of 24-hour urinary creatinine (0.64 g/day). RESULTS: In multivariable parametric survival models, compared to the normal BMI-normal/high muscle mass patients, high BMI-normal/high muscle mass patients had lower hazard of all-cause [hazard ratio (HR) 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83 - 0.97] and cardiovascular (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.79 - 0.97) death; high BMI patients with low muscle mass had higher hazard of all-cause (HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.17 - 1.42) and cardiovascular (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.06 - 1.39) death. CONCLUSION: Both body size and body composition influence survival of incident PD patients. As incident PD patients with high BMI and normal or high muscle mass have the best survival, PD patients should be encouraged to gain muscle mass rather than fat mass.
Adult↗
Evolution of genetically correlated traits: tooth size and body size in baboons.
Within a population, only phenotypic variation that is influenced by genes will respond to selection. Genes with pleiotropic effects are known to influence numerous traits, complicating our understanding of their evolution through time. Here we use quantitative genetic analyses to identify and estimate the shared genetic effects between molar size and trunk length in a pedigreed, breeding population of baboons housed at the Southwest National Primate Research Center. While crown area has a genetic correlation with trunk length, specific linear measurements yield different results. We find that variation in molar buccolingual width and trunk length is influenced by overlapping additive genetic effects. In contrast, mesiodistal molar length appears to be genetically independent of body size. This is the first study to demonstrate a significant genetic correlation between tooth size and body size in primates. The evolutionary implications are discussed.
Animals↗
The relationship between perceived and ideal body size and body mass index in 3rd-grade low socioeconomic Hispanic children.
Very little is known about body satisfaction among minority children. This study examined the relationship between perceived and actual body size and Body Mass Index among 43 low-socioeconomic Hispanic 3rd-graders. Researchers measured participants' Body Mass Index; students self-reported Perceived Ideal Self Image and Perceived Actual Self Image using Collins' (1991) pictorial instrument scale of seven child body images that illustrate body weight from very thin to obese. The majority of students chose body images from the scale that depicted a healthy weight for both their Perceived Ideal Self Image and Perceived Actual Self Image. More boys than girls chose underweight as their Perceived Ideal Self Image. Thirty percent of the students were found to be overweight and 30 percent were at risk for being overweight. A small positive correlation between Perceived Actual Self Image and Body Mass Index was found.
Body Image↗
Perception of body size and body satisfaction in recovered anorexic women: comparison with restrained and unrestrained eaters.
The perception of body size, measured by three different methods, and body satisfaction were assessed in 23 formerly anorexic inpatients with an "intermediate" (n = 9) or a "good" outcome (n = 14) and compared with the data obtained from 21 restrained and 20 unrestrained eaters. Using the Kinaesthetic Size Estimation Apparatus, overestimation and uncertainty in the perception of body size became apparent in both groups of former patients. The other two methods, Video Distortion Technique and Image Marking Procedure, did not produce comparable results. There was only a trend towards higher scores on body dissatisfaction, as measured by the Body Shape Questionnaire, in the patients' groups in comparison with the group of unrestrained eaters, whereas the patients' scores on body dissatisfaction were quite similar to those of the restrained eaters. None of these measures discriminated between the two outcome categories of "intermediate" and "good.". These findings suggest that restoration of body weight, by itself, obviously does not cause a normalization of body experience in all its components in patients with anorexia nervosa.
Adolescent↗