Babette S Zemel
Biographic Data
| ID | 86894 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Babette S Zemel |
| GIVEN NAMES | Babette S |
| FAMILY NAME | Zemel |
| SIGNATURE | ZEMEL B S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6164-7348 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1986 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Early infant appetitive traits are associated with growth status and adiposity in African-American infants and toddlers
Infant appetitive traits prospectively associate with relative weight and adiposity at 24m and aspects of the postnatal nutritional environment independent of maternal BMI
Paediatric dominant and non-dominant handgrip reference curves and the association with body composition
Paediatric handgrip reference curves were generated from which individual Z-scores can be calculated separately for dominant versus non-dominant hand and adjusted for body size. Association with ALSTMIZ suggests handgrip Z-score may be used as a measure of functional body composition
Relative leg-to-arm skeletal strength proportions in orangutans by species and sex
African American mothers' perceptions of infant body size are prospectively associated with infant growth and BMI
OBJECTIVES: The effect of mothers' perceptions of infant body size on infant growth and later BMI is poorly understood. We aimed to assess whether maternal perceptions were associated with infant BMI and weight gain and to identify factors that may influence maternal perceptions. METHODS: ). We collected sociodemographic, feeding mode, perceived stress, depression, and food insecurity information. The African American Infant Body Habitus Scale as…
From growth charts to growth status: How concepts of optimal growth and tempo influence the interpretation of growth measurements
Growth measurements are largely uninterpretable without comparison to a growth chart. Consequently, the characteristics of a growth chart become an integral component of the interpretation of growth measurements. The concepts of optimal growth and tempo are well recognised by auxologists, yet their implications for interpretation of growth measurements remain problematic. This narrative review discusses the concept of optimal growth and how it se…
Sex differences in childhood sleep and health implications
CONTEXT: Sleep is critical for optimal childhood metabolic health and neurodevelopment. However, there is limited knowledge regarding childhood sex differences in sleep, including children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and the impact of such differences on metabolic health. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if sex differences in childhood sleep exist and if sleep associates with metabolic health outcomes equally by sex. Using autism spectrum disorder (…
Covid-19 and the epistemology of epidemiological models at the dawn of AI”: Comment from the editors
The global pandemic created by SARS-COV2 has dramatically altered the landscape of contemporary life, bringing personal and economic hardships to many and profound loss of life. Scientists, health
Influence of complex childhood diseases on variation in growth and skeletal development
The study of human growth and skeletal development by human biologists is framed by the larger theoretical concerns regarding the underpinnings of population variation and human evolution. This unique perspective is directly relevant to the assessment of child health and well‐being at the individual and group level, as well as the construction of growth charts. Environmental, behavioral (nutrition and physical activity), and disease‐related facto…
Body composition estimation using skinfolds in children with and without health conditions affecting growth and body composition
New body composition prediction equations show excellent agreement with DXA and improve body composition estimation in healthy children and those with selected conditions affecting growth
Notice of Concern
Are urban chinese infants gaining too much weight
Human biology at the interface of paediatrics: Measuring bone mineral accretion during childhood
BACKGROUND: Professor Tanner established a paradigm for the study of growth and development that demands precise growth measurements, description of normal variability through development to adulthood, consideration of the effects of tempo and the study of factors that influence growth outcomes. The relatively new field of paediatric bone health assessment fits this paradigm and reflects the collaboration of human biologists and paediatricians in…
Development and Validation of a Predictive Equation for Lean Body Mass in Children and Adolescents
The equations estimate LBM accurately from simple anthropometric measures
Quantifying calcium intake in school age children: Development and validation of the Calcium Counts! © food frequency questionnaire
Quantifying dietary behavior is difficult and can be intrusive. Calcium, an essential mineral for skeletal development during childhood, is difficult to assess. Few studies have examined the use of food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) for assessing calcium intake in school‐age children. This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Calcium Counts! © FFQ (CCFFQ) for estimating calcium intake in school children in the US. Healthy childre…
The recognition and treatment of growth disorders – A 50-year retrospective
The past 50 years have seen great progress in the understanding and treatment of classic growth disorders. Advances such as the recognition of hormone receptor defects, the development of recombinant growth hormone, and the expanding awareness of epigenetic phenomena affecting growth are among these great achievements. Yet growth failure remains a pervasive problem among children with complex health conditions, such as survivors of childhood canc…
Methodological agreement between two‐compartment body‐composition methods in children
Increases in childhood obesity have emphasized the importance of accurate and accessible body composition assessment, especially in monitoring prevention and treatment efforts. Previous pediatric studies, comparing measures from air‐displacement plethysmography (ADP) to dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) and anthropometry (ANTH, skinfold measures), were performed in small numbers of children or in children across large age and body‐size range…
Statistical validation of air-displacement plethysmography for body composition assessment in children
ADP offers a valid and reliable means of assessing body composition in children but does not perform as well as ANTH or DXA. MTMM and factor analytic methodologies offer an effective alternative to assessing body composition
Secular changes in stature, weight, fatness, overweight, and obesity in urban African American adolescents from the mid-1950's to the mid-1990's
The prevalence of obesity among American children and adults has increased over the past few decades. This paper reports secular changes in stature, weight, and fatness in three groups of urban African American adolescents between 11 and 15 years of age of comparable socioeconomic status, ethnic background, and region measured in the 1960's, 1970's, and 1990's. Adolescents measured in the 1990's were heavier and only somewhat taller than those me…
Energetics, lifestyles, and nutritional adaptation: An introduction
Role of disease in energy balance in children
Nutritional stress can be caused by increased energy demands or inadequate caloric intake. In the absence of food shortage, disease is often a significant contributory factor in promoting nutritional stress. In children, the interaction of nutrition and disease is more difficult to assess than in adults because deficits in growth and development have both a determining and consequential role in defining energy needs. This paper presents a framewo…
Energetics, lifestyles, and nutritional adaptation: An introduction
Application of the Preece‐Baines growth model to cross‐sectional data: Problems of validity and interpretation
The Preece‐Baines growth model (PBGM) is a family of curves that conform to the shape of the human growth curve. It is most often used to analyze longitudinal records on individuals, but it can be applied to cross‐sectional data from population surveys. The purpose of this study was to determine empirically the validity of applying the PBGM to cross‐sectional data to make inferences about the timing and nature of the adolescent growth spurt. Long…
Dietary change and adolescent growth among the Bundi (Gende‐speaking) people of Papua New Guinea
In the 1960's, the Bundi had a pattern of slow growth, delayed maturation, and small adult body size due to malnutrition. Since then, improved transportation, wage income, cash cropping, and migration have changed dietary patterns for the Bundi. The purpose of our study was to assess the effects of this general increase in protein and energy intakes on adolescent growth. The data were collected in 1984. Subscapular skinfold thicknesses among rura…
The contribution of adrenal and gonadal androgens to the growth in height of adolescent males
Gonadal androgens are known to regulate the rate of growth in height during adolescence, particularly in males, but little is known of the role of adrenal androgens in this process. In a prospective multiple regression model we show that both adrenal and gonadal androgens contribute to the increasing rate of growth in height prior to peak height velocity and the decreasing rate of height growth in later adolescence. Since adrenal androgen secreti…
The contribution of adrenal and gonadal androgens to the growth in height of adolescent males
Gonadal androgens are known to regulate the rate of growth in height during adolescence, particularly in males, but little is known of the role of adrenal androgens in this process. In a prospective multiple regression model we show that both adrenal and gonadal androgens contribute to the increasing rate of growth in height prior to peak height velocity and the decreasing rate of height growth in later adolescence. Since adrenal androgen secreti…
Early infant appetitive traits are associated with growth status and adiposity in African-American infants and toddlers
Infant appetitive traits prospectively associate with relative weight and adiposity at 24m and aspects of the postnatal nutritional environment independent of maternal BMI
The contribution of adrenal and gonadal androgens to the growth in height of adolescent males
Gonadal androgens are known to regulate the rate of growth in height during adolescence, particularly in males, but little is known of the role of adrenal androgens in this process. In a prospective multiple regression model we show that both adrenal and gonadal androgens contribute to the increasing rate of growth in height prior to peak height velocity and the decreasing rate of height growth in later adolescence. Since adrenal androgen secreti…
Dietary change and adolescent growth among the Bundi (Gende‐speaking) people of Papua New Guinea
In the 1960's, the Bundi had a pattern of slow growth, delayed maturation, and small adult body size due to malnutrition. Since then, improved transportation, wage income, cash cropping, and migration have changed dietary patterns for the Bundi. The purpose of our study was to assess the effects of this general increase in protein and energy intakes on adolescent growth. The data were collected in 1984. Subscapular skinfold thicknesses among rura…
Application of the Preece‐Baines growth model to cross‐sectional data: Problems of validity and interpretation
The Preece‐Baines growth model (PBGM) is a family of curves that conform to the shape of the human growth curve. It is most often used to analyze longitudinal records on individuals, but it can be applied to cross‐sectional data from population surveys. The purpose of this study was to determine empirically the validity of applying the PBGM to cross‐sectional data to make inferences about the timing and nature of the adolescent growth spurt. Long…
Energetics, lifestyles, and nutritional adaptation: An introduction
Role of disease in energy balance in children
Nutritional stress can be caused by increased energy demands or inadequate caloric intake. In the absence of food shortage, disease is often a significant contributory factor in promoting nutritional stress. In children, the interaction of nutrition and disease is more difficult to assess than in adults because deficits in growth and development have both a determining and consequential role in defining energy needs. This paper presents a framewo…
Energetics, lifestyles, and nutritional adaptation: An introduction
Secular changes in stature, weight, fatness, overweight, and obesity in urban African American adolescents from the mid-1950's to the mid-1990's
The prevalence of obesity among American children and adults has increased over the past few decades. This paper reports secular changes in stature, weight, and fatness in three groups of urban African American adolescents between 11 and 15 years of age of comparable socioeconomic status, ethnic background, and region measured in the 1960's, 1970's, and 1990's. Adolescents measured in the 1990's were heavier and only somewhat taller than those me…
Methodological agreement between two‐compartment body‐composition methods in children
Increases in childhood obesity have emphasized the importance of accurate and accessible body composition assessment, especially in monitoring prevention and treatment efforts. Previous pediatric studies, comparing measures from air‐displacement plethysmography (ADP) to dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) and anthropometry (ANTH, skinfold measures), were performed in small numbers of children or in children across large age and body‐size range…
Statistical validation of air-displacement plethysmography for body composition assessment in children
ADP offers a valid and reliable means of assessing body composition in children but does not perform as well as ANTH or DXA. MTMM and factor analytic methodologies offer an effective alternative to assessing body composition
The recognition and treatment of growth disorders – A 50-year retrospective
The past 50 years have seen great progress in the understanding and treatment of classic growth disorders. Advances such as the recognition of hormone receptor defects, the development of recombinant growth hormone, and the expanding awareness of epigenetic phenomena affecting growth are among these great achievements. Yet growth failure remains a pervasive problem among children with complex health conditions, such as survivors of childhood canc…
Quantifying calcium intake in school age children: Development and validation of the Calcium Counts! © food frequency questionnaire
Quantifying dietary behavior is difficult and can be intrusive. Calcium, an essential mineral for skeletal development during childhood, is difficult to assess. Few studies have examined the use of food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) for assessing calcium intake in school‐age children. This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Calcium Counts! © FFQ (CCFFQ) for estimating calcium intake in school children in the US. Healthy childre…
Are urban chinese infants gaining too much weight
Human biology at the interface of paediatrics: Measuring bone mineral accretion during childhood
BACKGROUND: Professor Tanner established a paradigm for the study of growth and development that demands precise growth measurements, description of normal variability through development to adulthood, consideration of the effects of tempo and the study of factors that influence growth outcomes. The relatively new field of paediatric bone health assessment fits this paradigm and reflects the collaboration of human biologists and paediatricians in…
Development and Validation of a Predictive Equation for Lean Body Mass in Children and Adolescents
The equations estimate LBM accurately from simple anthropometric measures
Notice of Concern
Body composition estimation using skinfolds in children with and without health conditions affecting growth and body composition
New body composition prediction equations show excellent agreement with DXA and improve body composition estimation in healthy children and those with selected conditions affecting growth
Influence of complex childhood diseases on variation in growth and skeletal development
The study of human growth and skeletal development by human biologists is framed by the larger theoretical concerns regarding the underpinnings of population variation and human evolution. This unique perspective is directly relevant to the assessment of child health and well‐being at the individual and group level, as well as the construction of growth charts. Environmental, behavioral (nutrition and physical activity), and disease‐related facto…
Covid-19 and the epistemology of epidemiological models at the dawn of AI”: Comment from the editors
The global pandemic created by SARS-COV2 has dramatically altered the landscape of contemporary life, bringing personal and economic hardships to many and profound loss of life. Scientists, health
Sex differences in childhood sleep and health implications
CONTEXT: Sleep is critical for optimal childhood metabolic health and neurodevelopment. However, there is limited knowledge regarding childhood sex differences in sleep, including children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and the impact of such differences on metabolic health. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if sex differences in childhood sleep exist and if sleep associates with metabolic health outcomes equally by sex. Using autism spectrum disorder (…
African American mothers' perceptions of infant body size are prospectively associated with infant growth and BMI
OBJECTIVES: The effect of mothers' perceptions of infant body size on infant growth and later BMI is poorly understood. We aimed to assess whether maternal perceptions were associated with infant BMI and weight gain and to identify factors that may influence maternal perceptions. METHODS: ). We collected sociodemographic, feeding mode, perceived stress, depression, and food insecurity information. The African American Infant Body Habitus Scale as…
From growth charts to growth status: How concepts of optimal growth and tempo influence the interpretation of growth measurements
Growth measurements are largely uninterpretable without comparison to a growth chart. Consequently, the characteristics of a growth chart become an integral component of the interpretation of growth measurements. The concepts of optimal growth and tempo are well recognised by auxologists, yet their implications for interpretation of growth measurements remain problematic. This narrative review discusses the concept of optimal growth and how it se…
Paediatric dominant and non-dominant handgrip reference curves and the association with body composition
Paediatric handgrip reference curves were generated from which individual Z-scores can be calculated separately for dominant versus non-dominant hand and adjusted for body size. Association with ALSTMIZ suggests handgrip Z-score may be used as a measure of functional body composition
Relative leg-to-arm skeletal strength proportions in orangutans by species and sex
Early infant appetitive traits are associated with growth status and adiposity in African-American infants and toddlers
Infant appetitive traits prospectively associate with relative weight and adiposity at 24m and aspects of the postnatal nutritional environment independent of maternal BMI
Medicine (20 works) · Internal Medicine (10 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet (8 works) · Demography (7 works) · Biology (6 works) · Endocrinology (6 works) · Environmental health (6 works) · Population (6 works) · Body Composition Measurement Techniques (5 works)