A million children at risk because of hidden fat

Around a million children are at risk of heart disease and diabetes because standard measures to determine if they are healthy ignore body fat and muscle mass
By Claire Carter
 
One million children who are classed as healthy under Government standards could be at risk of an early death because of hidden fat around their organs, academics warn.

The body mass index system, which measures height and weight to classify people as underweight, healthy and obese ignores fat within the body say experts, which puts children at risk of diabetes and heart disease.

They say this system underestimates the amount of children who are overweight by around one million, as these children may appear slim but have fat packed around their organs, limbs and brains.

Scientists describe this group as “tofi” children – thin on the outside and fat on the inside – who are being put at risk by the use of standard measurements that do not distinguish between body fat and muscle mass.

Professor David McCarthy, of London Metropolitan University, said there was a “raft” of children who had been overlooked because they are classified as having a healthy BMI.

“This matters because the more fat you have, compared to muscle, the more likely you are to develop type 2 Diabetes and coronary heart disease in later life,” Prof McCarthy told the Mail on Sunday.
“If they maintain their body composition into adulthood, or it gets worse, they are going to be at risk of these diseases.”
For the study 1,000 children were measured using a Tanita bio-electrical impedance machine which measures how much weight is fat and muscle by passing a low electrical current through the body.
This found that 15 per cent of children classed as “healthy” under the BMI scale had high levels of fat – with one boy found to have 29 per cent body fat.
The study also found that one in ten children who were classed as overweight using the BMI system were actually healthy when their muscle and fat mass were measured.
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, called for scanning units to be regularly used in schools so their body fat could be measured properly.
“We need to see inside children with sophisticated scientific equipment to find hidden fat- otherwise we are failing to address a growing problem.”
Body mass index is calculated by measuring the ratio of weight to height and does not take into account the difference between body fat and muscle mass. Under the National Child Measurement programme children are measured at ages four to five and when they are 10 and 11, to indicate whether they are in the healthy BMI range or not.
The measurements, which public health officials have conceded are not perfect, have seen some parents of active sporty children receive letters telling them their child is overweight.
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