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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

One Dimensional Turing-Like Handshake Test for Motor Intelligence

One Dimensional Turing-Like Handshake Test for Motor Intelligence

Published on: December 15, 2010

Is the 1975 Reference Man still a suitable reference?

W Later¹, A Bosy-Westphal, E Kossel

¹Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

|July 29, 2010

Summary

The 1975 Reference Man standard is outdated due to significant changes in body composition. Modern populations have greater fat mass, muscle mass, and organ sizes, necessitating updated references for radiation and medication dose calculations.

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Last Updated: Jun 10, 2026

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Creating and Applying a Reference to Facilitate the Discussion and Classification of Proteins in a Diverse Group

Creating and Applying a Reference to Facilitate the Discussion and Classification of Proteins in a Diverse Group

Published on: August 16, 2017

Area of Science:

Anthropometry and Human Physiology
Medical Physics and Radiation Dosimetry
Radiological Imaging and Body Composition Analysis

Background:

The established 1975 Reference Man standard may no longer accurately represent contemporary adult populations.
Significant shifts in average body weight and body composition have occurred over recent decades.
Advancements in in vivo body composition analysis technologies offer new assessment capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare the body composition of a current adult population against the 1975 Reference Man data.
To evaluate the continued validity of the 1975 Reference Man as a standard for dose estimations.
To determine if a revised reference standard is required for accurate medical assessments.

Main Methods:

Body composition was assessed in 208 healthy Caucasian adults (105 males, 103 females) aged 18-78 years.
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to determine fat mass (FM) and muscle mass (MM).
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was employed to measure organ masses (OMs).

Main Results:

The study population exhibited considerable variance in body weight and composition compared to Reference Man.
Participants were heavier, taller, and possessed greater FM, MM, and larger brain, heart, and spleen masses.
While body weight-dependent differences in FM, MM, and heart mass diminished, brain and spleen mass disparities persisted.

Conclusions:

Current adult body composition significantly deviates from the 1975 Reference Man standard.
The findings highlight the necessity for a modernized Reference Man standard.
A revised reference is crucial for accurate recalculation of medical radiation and medication doses.