Relative expansion of extra cellular water (ecw) in obese children
versus normal children.
Battistini, N., F. Virgili, S. Severi, P. Brambilla, P. Manzoni, L.
Beccaria, and G. Chiumello.
Istituto di Fisiologia, Universit[grave]a di Modena, Istituto
Nazionale della Nutrizione, Roma, Clinica Pediatrica III, Ospedale S.
Raffaele, Milano
APStracts 2:0075A, 1995.
This preliminary communication reports data regarding the distribution
between intracellular (ICW) and extra cellular compartments (ECW) in
a group of 21 pre-puberal young obese of both sexes in comparison
with a group on 18 normal weight matched for age. Our data indicate
that obesity is associated with a highly significant relative
expansion of extra cellular water (ECW/ICW equal to 0.61+/-0.19 and
0.76+/-0.09 in controls and obese respectively, p<0.0015). This
observation, which has been already reported in adult women, suggests
that some disturbances of water homeostasis have an early onset and
stress the need for an early control of energy imbalance in children.
These findings have a great concern also in the field of human body
composition, suggesting the opportunity of a critical revaluation of
the assumed constancy of some human body characteristics. Body
composition methodologies developed for "normal" populations would
require adjustment for use in obese population since a considerable
error would be introduced.
Received 17 June 1994; accepted in final form 24 February 1995.
APS Manuscript Number A599-4.
Article publication pending Journal of Applied Physiology.
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1995 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 10 March 1995.