The four-compartment models in body composition: data from a study with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and near-infrared interactance on 815 normal subjects.

With the aim of studying body composition according to a four-compartment model in different age groups of healthy subjects, total body water (TBW), body fat (BF), lean body mass (LBM), and total-body bone mineral content (TBBMC) were estimated with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and near-infrared interactance in 308 normal males and 507 normal females aged 15 to 83 years. Subjects were divided into 5-year groups up to the age of 50, and then into 10-year groups. In both sexes, BF showed a positive correlation with age (P < .001) and was higher in females aged 40 to 44 compared with younger groups. LBM decreased with age only among males (P < .05). A similar finding was observed with TBW. TBBMC values did not differ between sexes in the 15- to 19-year-old group, and were greater in males in the remaining age groups. This parameter did not vary among females until menopause, and decreased in the 50- to 59-year-old group (P < .001) and from the age of 60 onward (P < .001). Height decreased (P < .001) and weight increased with age (P < .001). Both in male and female groups height and weight correlated with TBBMC (P < .001). When corrected for weight, TBBMC did not vary except in men older than 50, who showed lower values (P < .005). When corrected for height, TBBMC only changed in women aged 30 to 34 and 35 to 39.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)