Provider: Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic

TY  - JOUR
JO  - Anthropologie (Brno)
TI  - The Distribution of Subcutaneous Fat in Prepubescent Boys and in Those Entering Puberty
AU  - Sedlak P
Y1  - 1998
VL  - 36
IS  - 3
PB  - Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic
SN  - 0323-1119
SP  - 261
EP  - 265
KW  - Skin fold
KW  - Distribution of subcutaneous fat
KW  - Prepubescence
KW  - Onset of puberty
KW  - Boys
N2  - 
N2  - From 1993 to 1994 a total of 763 boys between the ages of 7 and 13 were examined in Prague basic schools. Principal anthropometric and functional characteristics were observed with the goal of summarizing the growth and developmental trends of somatic parameters in prepubescent boys and those entering the puberty growth spurt. The A. focused on the study of the development of fourteen skin folds and the changes in the distribution of subcutaneous fat during this time. For these purposes he used the centrality indices according to Pařízková (1962) and the calculation of the natural logarithms of the ratio of skin fold thickness according to Ulbrichová (1992). The percentage of body fat was also observed according to the methods of Pařízková (1962). It was determined that, on average, the skin fold thickness for boys in this development stage increases. However, the developmental trend fluctuates considerably. Often he observed stagnation in the further growth of samples, most relevantly their moderate decrease, typical for the time period at the beginning of the puberty growth spurt. During the research the main growth appeared in skin folds on the chest, above the ridge of the hip bone and on the stomach. The distribution indices of subcutaneous fat supported this finding. While up to age 5 the storage of subcutaneous fat on limbs (triceps, thighs) prevails in proportion to the trunk for boys, the situation begins to change in prepubescence. The ratio of skin fold thickness gradually evens out and the distribution of fat moves in the centripetal direction. The centrality indices reveal a process of greater storage of subcutaneous fat on the trunk characteristic for the given age. Natural logarithms of the ratio of skin fold thickness, assessing the situation at a given age, draw attention to the lasting, greater thickness of skin folds on the limbs which gradually reaches a balanced state. However, we cannot reliably confirm changes in this ratio in boys before 15 years of age, that is when a greater amount of subcutaneous fat is clearly proved to be on the trunk.
ER  -