Visser et al developed equations for predicting body density in an older adult using anthropmetric data. The authors are from Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands.
Patient selection: males and females from 60 to 87 years of age
Parameters:
(1) body mass index from height and weight
(2) gender (male = 1, female = 0)
(3) sum of biceps and triceps skinfold thicknesses in mm (sum of 2)
(4) sum of biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses in mm (sum of 4)
Skinfold measurements are taken in triplicate with skinfold calipers.
(1) The triceps skinfold is taken midway between the acromion and olecranon processes.
(2) The biceps skinfold is taken at the same level as the triceps skinfold, directly above the antecubital fossa.
(3) The subscapular skinfold is taken 20 mm below the tip of the scapula at 45 degrees to the lateral side of the body.
(4) The suprailiac skinfold is taken just above the iliac crest in the axillary line.
density by model 1 in kg/L =
= (0.0186 * (points for gender)) - (0.03 * LOG10(sum of 2)) + 1.0481
density by model 2 in kg/L =
= (0.0212 * (points for gender)) - (0.0356 * LOG10(sum of 4)) + 1.0688
density by model 3 in kg/L =
= (0.0226 * (points for gender)) - (0.0022 * (body mass index)) + 1.0605
The percent body fat can be estimated from the Siri equation.
Performance:
• Model 1: R-squared 0.55 and SEE 0.0117
• Model 2: R-squared 0.58 and SEE 0.0113
• Model 3: R-squared 0.67 and SEE 0.01
