An Anthropometric Estimation of Body Density and Lean Body Weight in Young Women

Abstract

The ability to accurately estimate body density and lean body weight from skin folds, body diameters, and circumferences was investigated in a sample of 128 collegeage females. The body density and lean body weight obtained from underwater weighing were used as the criteria for the regression analyses of the anthropometric data. It was found that body density could be predicted from five anthropometric measurements with a multiple R = 0.76 and a standard error of estimate of ±0.0066 g/cc. Lean body weight was predicted from five anthropometric measurements with a multiple R = 0.93 and a standard error of estimate of ±1.79 kg. In addition, equations for predicting body density and lean body weight, which had been derived in previous investigations, were independently analyzed on these same subjects. The results suggest that predictive accuracy is limited by the degree of similarity between the original and independent samples.