Magnetic resonance imaging of total body fat

• Published in: Journal of applied physiology (1985) Vol. 85; no. 5; pp. 1778 - 1785
• Main Authors: Thomas, E. Louise, Saeed, Nadeem, Hajnal, Joseph V, Brynes, Audrey, Goldstone, Anthony P, Frost, Gary, Bell, Jimmy D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Am Physiological Soc 01.11.1998; American Physiological Society
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - anatomy & histology; Adipose Tissue - pathology; Adolescent; Adult; Anatomy & physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Body Composition; Body fat; Body Mass Index; Complex syndromes; Electric Impedance; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Medical genetics; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Obesity - pathology; Prader-Willi Syndrome - pathology; Endocrinopathy; Human; Obesity; Adipose tissue; Magnetic resonance; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Corporal biometry; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Body composition; Genetic disease; Image analysis; Complex syndrome; Prader Labhart Willi syndrome
• ISSN: 8750-7587; 1522-1601
• DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1998.85.5.1778

The Robert Steiner Magnetic Resonance Imaging Unit, 1  Department of Dietetics and 2  Endocrine Unit, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0HS, United Kingdom In this study we assessed different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning regimes and examined some of the assumptions commonly made for measuring body fat content by MRI. Whole body MRI was used to quantify and study different body fat depots in 67 women. The whole body MRI results showed that there was a significant variation in the percentage of total internal, as well as visceral, adipose tissue across a range of adiposity, which could not be predicted from total body fat and/or subcutaneous fat. Furthermore, variation in the amount of total, subcutaneous, and visceral adipose tissue was not related to standard anthropometric measurements such as skinfold measurements, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio. Finally, we show for the first time subjects with a percent body fat close to the theoretical maximum (68%). This study demonstrates that the large variation in individual internal fat content cannot be predicted from either indirect methods or direct imaging techniques, such as MRI or computed tomography, on the basis of a single-slice sampling strategy. obesity; Prader-Willi syndrome; image analysis