[Methods for the assessment of human body composition: skinfold thickness and bioelectrical impedance measurements]

Research to establish indirect methods of determining human body composition began during the 1940s. Renewed interest in the assessment of human body composition has stimulated the need for a balanced understanding of available methodologies of estimating fat-free mass and fat mass. Subsequently a variety of methods has been introduced. However, attempts to describe the theory and practice of individual methods have been limited. The review summarizes the background and to describe the precision or error of skinfold thickness measurement and to highlight the strengths and the limitations of bioelectrical impedance method.