ArticleEuropean journal of clinical nutrition2018
Is BMI a relevant marker of fat mass in 4 year old children? Results from the MINISTOP trial.
Article in European journal of clinical nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Interventions to prevent obesity in children aged 2 to 4 years old.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Association between 24-hour movement behaviors and adiposity in children and adolescents: A compositional data meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025Pooled it
- Physical fitness is associated with fat mass and muscle mass in Chinese preschoolers.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Hyperactivity is associated with higher fat-free mass and physical activity in Swedish preschoolers: A cross-sectional study.Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) · 2021Article
- Changes in body composition by age and obesity status in preschool-aged children: the STEPS study.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2021Article
- Lead exposure during childhood and subsequent anthropometry through adolescence in girls.Environment international · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesDue to the increase in childhood obesity, identifying children with excess body fat as early as possible is essential. Body mass index (BMI) is commonly used as a marker of body fat in children, adolescents, and adults, yet whether BMI is a valid marker of body fat in pre-school aged children remains to be confirmed. Therefore, we analyzed the associations of BMI with fat and fat-free mass in healthy 4-year-old Swedish children. SUBJECTS/
methodsThe study comprised of 303 children (135 girls) participating in the MINISTOP obesity prevention trial. Fat and fat-free mass were measured using air displacement plethysmography and we computed fat mass index (FMI) and fat free mass index (FFMI) as fat and fat free mass (kg)/height
resultsBMI was positively yet weakly associated with percent fat mass (boys: r
conclusionsBMI was strongly associated to both FMI and FFMI. Therefore, caution is needed when interpreting body fat status based on BMI values in pre-school children.
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