Lean body mass and depot fat during ontogenesis in humans

Abstract

In the ontogenesis of man somatic changes are limited not only to the growth period. The main somatic indicators such as height increase up to 18 to 20 years, some other signs may, however, change up to the end of the third decade. Data on our Czechoslovak population assembled at Spartakiades (mass gymnastic displays) e.g. in 1965 indicate that on average the body-weight increases with advancing age (Fetter et al. 1967). The increase of body-weight is even more marked when evaluated in relation to height: values of relative body-weight (calculated on the basis of data assembled by Fetter et al. 1967), using Broca’s index, rise between 18 and 64 years in men from 91.7 to 107, in women from 93.8 to 115.2. This all leads to the question of how body composition changes during ontogenesis and whether these changes only correspond to the increase in body-weight or whether (e.g. in advanced age) they can be manifested even in the absence of changes in body-weight.