Purpose: Sarcopenia, a progressive loss ol skeletal muscle mass and function, is traditionally associated with aging but also affects children with chronic diseases, including inflammatory boweldisease (lBD). Despite its clinical significance, diagnosing sarcopenia in pediatric populations remains challenging due to the lack of uniform diagnostic criteria and reference data, particularly in Hungary. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the presence ol sarcopenia in newly diagnosed pediatric IBD patients using different diagnostic criteria and to assess muscle mass and strength in this population. Methods: A single-center, non-interventional study was conducted at the Heim Pdl National Pediatric lnstitute including seven newly diagnosed IBD patients aged 10-19 years. Handgrip strength was measured using Hungarian population-based relerence curves, NHANES Z-scores, and the Hungarian NETFIT database. Body composition was assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis using different references values lrom European databases for comparison. Results: 0f the seven participants (mean age 161+-1.9 years), only two patients had low muscle mass, suggesting sarcopenia. Handgrip strength was within the normal range in all patients; however, three children were identified as needing improvement to reach the "healthy" zone according to the NETFIT criteria. Variability in body composition percentiles was observed due to dilferences in the relerence data, but severe muscle mass loss was not prevalent. Conclusion: This study highlights the challenges in diagnosing sarcopenia in pediatric IBD patients, primarily due to the lack of standardized reference data and diagnostic criteria. While a small subset ol patients was identified as being at risk for sarcopenia, the findings highlight the need for localized normative values in Hungary and lurther research to establish clear diagnostic guidelines for pediatric sarcopenia.  Kulcsszavak: sarcopenia, muscle nass, inflammatory bowel disease, body composition, handgrip strength