Table 1.
Anthropometric formulas estimating body water
| Adults, normal body water values |
| Hume and Weyers formulae[63] |
| Women: TBW = -35.270121 + 0.344547H + 0.183809W |
| Men: TBW = -14.012934 + 0.194786H + 0.296785W |
| Watson et al[64] formulae |
| ….Women: TBW = -2.097 +0.1069H + 0.2466W |
| Men: TBW = 2.447 - 0.09516A + 0.1074H + 0.3362W |
| Chumlea et al[65] formulae |
| Women, African American: TBW = -16.71 - 0.05A + 0.24H + 0.22W |
| Women, Caucasian: TBW = -10.50 - 0.01A + 0.18H + 0.20W |
| Men, African American: TBW = -18.37 - 0.09A + 0.25H + 0.34W |
| Men, Caucasian: TBW = 23.04 - 0.03A + 0.50W - 0.62BMI |
| Children, normal body water values |
| Mellits, Cheek formulae[66] |
| Girls, H ≤ 110.8 cm: TBW = 0.076 + 0.013H + 0.507W |
| Girls, H > 110.8 cm: TBW = -10.313 + 0.154H + 0.252W |
| Boys, H ≤ 132.7 cm: TBW = -1.927 + 0.045H + 0.465W |
| Boys, H > 132.7 cm: TBW = -21.993 + 0.209H + 0.465W |
| Adults, pre-hemodialysis |
| Chertow et al[71] formula |
| TBW = 0.07493713A - 1.01767992G + 0.57894981D + 0.12703384H - 0.04012056W - 0.00067247W2 - 0.03486146 (A × G) + 0.11262857 (G × W) + 0.00104135 (A × W) + 0.00186104 (H × W) |
| Adults, peritoneal dialysis |
| Johansson et al[72] formulae |
| Women: TBW = -29.994 - 0.004A + 0.294H + 0.214W |
| Men: TBW = -10.759 - 0.078A + 0.192H + 0.312W |
| …. All patients: TBW = -42.879 - 0.033A + 0.372H + 0.274W |
Note that the Watson formula for men has an age term while the Watson formula for women has no age term. Age effects on body water are more pronounced in men than in women. This is clearly indicated by the coefficients for age in the Chumlea and Johansson formulas. TBW: Total body water (L); H: Height (cm); A: Age (yr); BMI: Body mass index (kg/m2); G: Gender (male = 1, female = 0); D: Diabetes (present = 1, absent = 0).