Body Composition in Children at the Beginning of School Age

Objective: the present study aims to analyze the body composition, through the children’s arm anthropometry at the beginning of school age.

Method: this is a cross-sectional study using a database of a cohort of elementary school students from municipal and state schools in Florianopolis, aged between 7 and 8 years. Measurements were obtained from the arm circumference and triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) and Arm Muscle Area (AMA), Arm Fat Area (AFA) e Arm Total Area (ATA) were calculated. There were obtained mean, median and standard deviation and rated the percentiles of the indices according to Frisancho’s referential. Correlations of AMA, AFA, ATA e TSF between boys and girls were analyzed.

Results: there was no statistically significant linear correlation of the Arm Muscle Area (AMA) between boys and girls, there was a statistically significant correlation of the Arm Fat Area (AFA) between boys and girls, and there was a strong linear correlation of Arm Total Area (ATA) between boys and girls. There was a statistically significant negative linear correlation of Triceps Skinfold Thicknesses (TSF) between boys and girls.

Conclusion: in the group the mean and medians of AFA are higher and the mean and medians of AMA and TSF are lower in relation to the referential. We can say that especially girls are overweight at the beginning of school age.