Relationship Between Body Composition and Basal Metabolic Rate in Children

Abstract
The relationship between body composition (skeletal muscle and subcut. fat) and the basal metabolic rate (BMR) was investigated in 95 children, using standard soft-tissue roentgenograms. For the leg alone, muscle and BMR correlations were +0.82 in boys and +0.73 in girls. Combined tissue diameters (leg and arm) did not improve the values of r. Fat and BMR correlations (+0.30 in boys, + 0.35 in girls) were not changed when corrected for muscle mass. It was suggested that the validity of other reference standards (height, wt., surface area, lean body mass) is derived from their high correlations with skeletal muscle. It was emphasized that fat and muscle account for approx. 70% of the total interpersonal differences in BMR, but not for all.

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