Patient selection: healthy women from 20 to 29 yers of age
Parameters:
(1) arm span in cm
(2) leg length in cm (taken as the difference between standing and sitting height, indicating distance from lower buttocks to the heel of the foot)
Measurements were taken twice. If both within 0.4 cm of each other then the average was taken. If the two measurements did not agree, then 2 additional measurements were taken and the average of the closest two values was used.
sitting height in cm =
= (0.2618 * (arm span)) + 37.68
= (0.245 * (leg length)) + 60.35
standing height =
= (0.674 * (arm span)) + 49.57
= (1.245 * (leg length)) + 60.35
In looking at the data in Table 1:
(1) sitting height and leg length were fairly close, and each was about half of the standing height
(2) arm span and standing height were fairly close (arm span is about 2 cm greater)
Limitation:
• Since the leg length was taken as the difference between standing and sitting height, the landmarks for taking leg length were not specified (the authors were apparently dealing with healthy women who were able to stand).
• The estimates might overestimate the height for an elderly woman with osteoporosis.
