title: Evaluation of a portable ultrasonoscope in assessing the body composition of college-age women.
abstract: Subcutaneous fat tissue thickness was measured ultrasonically on 66 females between the ages of 18-26 yr by using a portable ultrasonoscope and by skinfold caliper. Measurements were obtained at seven sites: triceps, biceps, subscapula, suprailiac, abdomen, calf, and thigh. In addition, body density (Db) was measured by the underwater weighing technique. Mean Db was 1.0458 gm X cc-1, corresponding to a percent fat of 22.8% (range = 11.3-35.8%). Correlations between ultrasonic and skinfold measurements were significant (P less than 0.05) at all sites. The highest was noted at the suprailiac (r = 0.86) and the lowest was at the thigh (r = 0.75). Test-retest reliability for ultrasonic measurements, taken on separate days, ranged from r = 0.87 at the triceps to r = 0.99 at the biceps. Four significant regression equations for predicting Db were developed, two utilized skinfolds and two utilized ultrasonic measurements of tissue thickness. The equation with the greatest multiple correlation (R = 0.80) utilized the suprailiac, subscapula, and thigh skinfolds. The equation using ultrasonic measurements taken at the suprailiac and thigh sites demonstrated a multiple correlation of R = 0.78. This instrument is a reliable, portable, and non-invasive alternative to the skinfold caliper in obtaining field measurements of body composition.
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D014465:Ultrasonics / Q000295:instrumentation*