OBJECTIVES Body fatness is widely assumed to be regulated by a lipostatic set-point system, which has evolved in response to trade-offs in the risks of mortality. Increasing fatness makes the risk of starvation lower but increases the risk of predation. Yet other models are available. The aim of this work is to evaluate using mathematical modeling whether set-point systems are more likely to ev...

The pace of research on the causes and consequences of obesity has increased dramatically since the late 1990s. However, a great chasm exists between the high-quality measurements of fatness used in the medical literature and the mostly self-reported height and weight data found in social science surveys. This article discusses the scientific value of including more accurate measures of fatness...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Although the prevalence of childhood obesity, as assessed by BMI (kg/m(2)), has tripled over the last 3 decades, this index is a measure of excess weight rather than excess body fatness. In this review we focus on the relation of BMI to body fatness and health risks, particularly on the ability of BMI for age >or=95th Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] percentile...

Background—The prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is partly attributable to an inactive and/or overweight population. However, the independent association of body fatness and aerobic fitness with CVD risk factors is uncertain. We sought to determine whether fatness or fitness better predicted traditional CVD risk factors in men with broad fatness, aerobic fitness, and age ranges using 3...

Heritability estimates of human body fatness vary widely and the contribution of body composition methodology to this variability is unknown. The effect of body composition methodology on estimations of genetic and environmental contributions to body fatness variation was examined in 78 adult male and female monozygotic twin pairs reared apart or together. Body composition was assessed by six m...

This study examined the independent and combined importance of aerobic fitness and body fatness on physiological tolerance and exercise time during weight-bearing exercise while wearing a semipermeable protective ensemble. Twenty-four men and women were matched for aerobic fitness and body fatness in one of four groups (4 men and 2 women in each group). Aerobic fitness was expressed per kilogra...

There is little evidence from randomized trials showing that physical activity alone influences biomarker profiles in youths. This study tested two hypotheses: (i) that elevated body fatness and poor fitness would be associated with unfavorable levels of cardiometabolic biomarkers in 8-12-y-old black girls (n = 242) and (ii) that a 10-mo PA intervention would have favorable effects on the fatne...

INTRODUCTION "Obesity" is considered a feature of youth with DS but whether "low physical fitness" is also a feature is unknown. OBJECTIVE The aim of this case-control study was to compare the levels of fatness and fitness in adolescents with and without DS. METHODS Participants included 17 (5 girls) adolescents with DS aged 12-18 years and a control group of 94 (45 girls) adolescents witho...

We examined sex and ethnic differences in central fatness, as assessed by waist circumference measurements, in 13 590 Millennium Cohort Study 5-year-olds. Measurements were expressed as z-scores based on reference data from the British Standards Institute. The cohort, especially girls, had larger waist circumference measurements than the reference population. Black children had larger waist, an...

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between cardiovascular diseases risk factors, cardiorespiratory fitness and three different indicators of fatness, and investigate if these relationships are independent by each other. Methods: 491 children and adolescents were evaluated. Standardized metabolic risk scores were computed. Multiple linear regression and Univariate Analysis of Variance –...