Von Dobeln used anthropometric measurements to estimate a person's fat free body mass. The author is from Kungliga Gymnastiska Centralinstitutet in Stockholm, Sweden.
Subjects: 16 males and 16 females from 19 to 33 years of age enrolled as physical education students
Parameters:
(1) body height in meters
(2) sum of left and right femoral condylar breadths in decimeters
(3) sum of left and right radioulnar bistyloid breadths in decimeters
where:
• A measurement in decimeters = (measurement in centimeters) / 10.
• The femoral condylar breadth is measured at the knee, from the medial to lateral femoral condyles.
• The radioulnar bistyloid breadth is measured at the wrist.
• Measurements of the condylar and bistyloid breadths require special calipers.
fat free weight in kilograms =
= 15.1 * ((((height in meters)^2) * (sum of femoral condylar breadths in dm) * (sum of radioulnar bistyloid breadths in dm)) ^ (0.712))
Performance:
The standard deviation was +/- 4%.
Limitations:
• Failures in taking the anthropometric measurements can result in poor estimates. The points selected have little skin and subcutaneous tissue covering them in normals. In the obese it is important to apply pressure with the measurement blades against the soft tissue.
• The number of subjects enrolled was relatively small.
