Anthropometric measures: poor predictors of body fat in children with moderate to severe cerebral palsy.

Aim: This purpose of our study was to assess and compare anthropometric measures of adiposity and direct measurement of percentage body fat by dual emission X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in children with cerebral palsy (CP). We also compared our results in children with CP with results from a national sample of typically developing children from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Method: Anthropometry and DXA were obtained from 58 participants with CP (25 females, 33 males; Gross Motor Function Classification System levels III-V; mean age 13 y 1 mo [SD 3 y], range 8-18 y).

Assessment and correction of skinfold thickness equations in estimating body fat in children with cerebral palsy.

Aim: To assess the accuracy of skinfold equations in estimating percentage body fat in children with cerebral palsy (CP), compared with assessment of body fat from dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

Method: Data were collected from 71 participants (30 females, 41 males) with CP (Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] levels I-V) between the ages of 8 and 18 years. Estimated percentage body fat was computed using established (Slaughter) equations based on the triceps and subscapular skinfolds.