Evaluation of body measurement methods for children living with obesity

儿童肥胖症是一种世界性流行病。这一点令人担忧，因为儿童肥胖与成年后过早死亡和残疾的风险增加有关，因为年轻时非传染性疾病的发病率更高。人们认识到，虽然儿童肥胖的原因是多方面的，但准确的测量是必不可少的。由于直接测量脂肪组织(身体脂肪)和健康是资源密集型的；我们依靠测量外部身体尺寸来推断肥胖，通过了解外部身体尺寸和脂肪组织之间的联系，以及脂肪组织和健康之间的关系。身体质量指数(BMI)是用来估计脂肪组织以推断肥胖的最多产的外部身体大小衡量标准。尽管BMI可以手动获取，计算简单，并伴随着标准化的风险阈值，但它存在根本缺陷：无法准确估计和检测脂肪组织的变化，无法推断健康，特别是儿童和某些种族(即亚洲和黑人群体)的健康。此外，作为由多个高度相关的度量创建的度量，不可能理清每个组成度量的因果角色，从而导致错误的解释。需要进行彻底的革命性改革，重点是肥胖和健康之间的因果关系，以及直接测量体表尺寸的长度、宽度、周长、体积和面积的能力和适宜性，以预测肥胖，从而推断儿童的健康，包括体型、年龄、性别、社会背景和种族。我是一名体育工程师，专门从事精英运动员的身体测量，探索直接体型测量对表现和训练的影响和价值。利用这些专业知识，我将进行颠覆性的跨学科研究，将我的专业知识从精英运动转化为儿童肥胖症，旨在革命性地改革肥胖儿童的体型测量和方法。为了实现这一目标，我将：1.确定最准确的体表尺寸测量方法，以评估与儿童肥胖相关的因素(肥胖和健康)。2.确定最适合儿童的体表尺寸测量方法和身体测量方法。创建儿童人体银行，这是世界上第一个致力于儿童身体测量的数据库4.将我发展成为儿童身体测量的独立全球领导者。在这样做的过程中，研究员将：1.改进儿童身体测量方法，通过确定最准确和合适的外部身体尺寸测量来评估与儿童肥胖有关的因素(肥胖和健康)。通过这样做，我们将能够更准确地衡量儿童肥胖症和儿童健康，从而确保准确：诊断和监测，以支持对个人的治疗，并解释病情的流行病学，以支持适当服务的规划。从根本上降低儿童肥胖率，改善英国和全球儿童的健康和福祉。通过建立儿童人体银行支持商业和制造业我们将提供获取最新的具有代表性的儿童身体测量数据和方法的途径，这将促进和最大限度地减少跨学科和应用对儿童的理论、标准、指南、方法、服务和产品的研究、设计和创新的障碍。在这样做的过程中，巩固和加速改善影响英国和全球社会和经济的儿童健康和福祉。通过创建该领域和数据储存库的全球领导者，在该奖学金内外开展和促进世界领先的研究。因此，这一奖学金将使公众、医疗从业者、研究人员、企业和政策制定者受益--对英国和全球的社会和经济产生重大影响。

Childhood obesity is a worldwide epidemic. This is of concern as childhood obesity is associated with an increased risk of premature death and disability in adulthood, due to higher rates of noncommunicable diseases at a younger age. It is recognised that whilst the causes of childhood obesity are multifaceted, accurate measurement is essential. As direct measurement of adipose tissue (body fat) and health is resource intensive; we rely on measurement of external body size to infer obesity, through an understanding of the association between external body size and adipose tissue, and between adipose tissue and health. Body Mass Index (BMI) is the most prolific measure of external body size used to estimate adipose tissue to infer obesity. Although manually acquirable, simple to calculate and accompanied by standardised risk thresholds, BMI is fundamentally flawed: unable to accurately estimate and detect change in adipose tissue and infer health, particularly for children and some ethnicities (namely Asian and Black ethnic groups). Furthermore, as a measure created from multiple highly related measures, it is impossible to untangle the causal roles of each component measure, leading to incorrect interpretations. Complete revolutionary reform is needed, focusing on the causal relationship between adiposity and health, and ability and suitability of direct measured external body size measures, of lengths, breadths, girths, volumes and areas, to predict adiposity to infer health in children, across body sizes, ages, genders, social backgrounds and ethnicities. I am a Sports Engineer specialising in the body measurement of elite athletes, exploring the impact and value of direct external body size measures to performance and training. Using this expertise, I will undertake disruptive interdisciplinary research, translating my expertise from elite sport to childhood obesity, aiming to revolutionise and reform external body size measures and methods for children living with obesity. To achieve this, I will: 1. Identify the most accurate external body size measures to assess factors (adiposity and health) causally associated with obesity in children.2: Identify the most suitable external body size measures and body measurement methods for children.3. Create Child Anthrobank, the world first data repository dedicated to child body measurement 4. Develop myself as an independent global leader in child body measurement.In doing so, the fellowship will: 1. IMPROVE CHILD BODY MEASUREMENT METHODS, through identification of the most accurate and suitable external body size measures to assess factors (adiposity and health) causally associated with obesity in children. In doing so we will be able to measure childhood obesity and child health more accurately, thereby ensuring accurate: diagnosis and monitoring, to underpin treatment for individuals, and interpretation of the epidemiology of conditions, to underpin the planning of appropriate services. Fundamentally aiming to reduce child obesity rates and improve child health and wellbeing in the UK and globally.2. SUPPORT BUSINESS AND MANUFACTURING through establishing Child Anthrobank we will be providing access to up-to-date representative child body measurement data and methods, that will facilitate and minimise the barriers for research, design and innovation of theories, standards, guidelines, methods, services and products on/for children across disciplines and applications. In doing so, underpin and accelerate improvements in child health and wellbeing that impacts society and the economy, in the UK and globally.3. CONDUCT AND FACILITATE WORLD-LEADING RESEARCH within and beyond this fellowship through the creation of a global leader in the field and data repository. Thus, this fellowship will benefit the public, health care practitioners, researchers, businesses, and policy makers - meaningfully impacting society and the economy, in the UK and globally.