Stable isotopes and body composition in children: History, fundamentals, and clinical applications

The aim of this study was to gather information on the use of stable isotopes to measure total body water and body composition scan in children. We selected studies in the last 13 years; in addition to classical studies on the subject, indexed in the database PubMed, LILACS, BVS and SciELO. The body composition was characterized by the amount of bone tissue, muscle and adipose tissue, also including the organs as well as levels of body water. Your knowledge becomes increasingly important in light of the changes that occur in the nutritional status of various types of diseases in frameworks, such as diabetes mellitus, protein energy malnutrition, in cases of obesity and metabolic syndrome. The ability to accurately assess body fat mass especially in children is associated with the importance of effective strategies for prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. Historically, in addition to clinical applications, measurements of total body water were used to determine body composition in nutritional studies. To the knowledge of the body composition, the body water can be measured and used by the ingestion of a dose of labeled water. The measured isotope enrichment is a function of the amount of body water. The method of deuterium is particularly interesting for the assessment of body composition in children, due to its characteristics of collection and analysis.