Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Sports Medicine logoLink to British Journal of Sports Medicine
. 1994 Mar;28(1):9–13. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.28.1.9

Estimation of body composition in Chinese and British men by ultrasonographic assessment of segmental adipose tissue volume.

R Eston 1, R Evans 1, F Fu 1
PMCID: PMC1332149  PMID: 8044501

Abstract

It has been shown that ultrasonographic measurements can be used to predict body composition in adults. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between ultrasonograph and caliper (SKF) measurements of subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness in athletic Caucasian (English, E) and Asian (Chinese, C) men against estimates of body composition determined from hydrodensitometry (HYD). The usefulness of a proposed ultrasonographic method of estimating lean and fat proportions in the upper and lower limbs was also evaluated as a potential method of predicting body composition. Ultrasonography (US) was used to measure adipose and skin thickness at the following sites: biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, abdominal, pectoral, thigh and calf. Caliper measurements were also made at the above sites. Subcutaneous fat thickness and segmental radius were measured directly from the display screen of the ultrasonic scanner (Aloka 500 SD). By applying the geometry of a cone, the proximal and distal radii of the upper arm and upper leg were used to calculate the proportionate volumes of adipose tissue. The best correlations for US and SKF were obtained at the quadriceps, subscapular and pectoral sites for E (r = 0.96, 0.93 and 0.90, respectively) and at the quadriceps, calf and abdominal sites for C (r = 0.90, 0.81 and 0.75, respectively). The best ultrasonographic predictor of the percentage fat in both groups was the percentage adipose tissue volume in the upper leg (r = 0.83 and 0.79 for C and E, respectively). Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that the prediction of percentage fat was improved by the addition of the ultrasonographic abdomen measurement in both groups: Chinese sample: %fat = %fat(leg) (0.491) + US abdomen (0.337) + 0.95 ( R = 0.89, s.e.e. = 1.9%); English sample: %fat = %fat(leg) (0.435) + US abdomen (0.230) - 0.765 ( R = 0.80, s.e.e. = 3.6%). It is concluded that ultrasonographic measurements of subcutaneous adipose tissue and volumetric assessment of percentage adipose tissue in the thigh are useful estimates of body composition in athletic English and Chinese males.

Full text

PDF
9

Images in this article

10Figure 1
on p.10
10Figure 2
on p.10
10Figure 3
on p.10
13p13-a
on p.13

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BROZEK J., GRANDE F., ANDERSON J. T., KEYS A. DENSITOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF BODY COMPOSITION: REVISION OF SOME QUANTITATIVE ASSUMPTIONS. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1963 Sep 26;110:113–140. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1963.tb17079.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Black D., Vora J., Hayward M., Marks R. Measurement of subcutaneous fat thickness with high frequency pulsed ultrasound: comparisons with a caliper and a radiographic technique. Clin Phys Physiol Meas. 1988 Feb;9(1):57–64. doi: 10.1088/0143-0815/9/1/005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Borkan G. A., Hults D. E., Cardarelli J., Burrows B. A. Comparison of ultrasound and skinfold measurements in assessment of subcutaneous and total fatness. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1982 Jul;58(3):307–313. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330580309. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Clarys J. P., Martin A. D., Drinkwater D. T., Marfell-Jones M. J. The skinfold: myth and reality. J Sports Sci. 1987 Spring;5(1):3–33. doi: 10.1080/02640418708729760. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Davies P. S., Jones P. R., Norgan N. G. The distribution of subcutaneous and internal fat in man. Ann Hum Biol. 1986 Mar-Apr;13(2):189–192. doi: 10.1080/03014468600008341. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fanelli M. T., Kuczmarski R. J., Hirsch M. Estimation of body fat from ultrasound measures of subcutaneous fat and circumferences in obese women. Int J Obes. 1988;12(2):125–132. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fried A. M., Coughlin K., Griffen W. O. The sonographic fat/muscle ratio. Invest Radiol. 1986 Jan;21(1):71–75. doi: 10.1097/00004424-198601000-00012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. GOLDMAN H. I., BECKLAKE M. R. Respiratory function tests; normal values at median altitudes and the prediction of normal results. Am Rev Tuberc. 1959 Apr;79(4):457–467. doi: 10.1164/artpd.1959.79.4.457. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hayes P. A., Sowood P. J., Belyavin A., Cohen J. B., Smith F. W. Sub-cutaneous fat thickness measured by magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, and calipers. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1988 Jun;20(3):303–309. doi: 10.1249/00005768-198806000-00015. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Haymes E. M., Lundegren H. M., Loomis J. L., Buskirk E. R. Validity of the ultrasonic technique as a method of measuring subcutaneous adipose tissue. Ann Hum Biol. 1976 May;3(3):245–251. doi: 10.1080/03014467600001411. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kuczmarski R. J., Fanelli M. T., Koch G. G. Ultrasonic assessment of body composition in obese adults: overcoming the limitations of the skinfold caliper. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987 Apr;45(4):717–724. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/45.4.717. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Martin A. D., Ross W. D., Drinkwater D. T., Clarys J. P. Prediction of body fat by skinfold caliper: assumptions and cadaver evidence. Int J Obes. 1985;9 (Suppl 1):31–39. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Volz P. A., Ostrove S. M. Evaluation of a portable ultrasonoscope in assessing the body composition of college-age women. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1984;16(1):97–102. doi: 10.1249/00005768-198401000-00020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Weiss L. W., Clark F. C. Three protocols for measuring subcutaneous fat thickness on the upper extremities. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1987;56(2):217–221. doi: 10.1007/BF00640647. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Weiss L. W., Clark F. C. Ultrasonic protocols for separately measuring subcutaneous fat and skeletal muscle thickness in the calf area. Phys Ther. 1985 Apr;65(4):477–481. doi: 10.1093/ptj/65.4.477. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Weits T., van der Beek E. J., Wedel M. Comparison of ultrasound and skinfold caliper measurement of subcutaneous fat tissue. Int J Obes. 1986;10(3):161–168. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. da Costa J. L. Pulmonary function studies in healthy Chinese adults in Singapore. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1971 Jul;104(1):128–131. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1971.104.1.128. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Sports Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES