Arm-span, height, and age in black and white women

This paper presents the results of an anthropometric study of 293 Black and 298 White females, ages 35-89 years, who were healthy, non-institutionalized residents of North Carolina. All subjects were measured for arm-span and height. Correlations of the two measures were obtained for each race independently. Additionally, age as a factor in arm-span and height correlation for the two races was examined. Correlation of arm-span and height for Black subjects was 0.852 and for White subjects was 0.903. Age and height correlation for White women was -0.237 and for Black women was -0.114. Age and arm-span correlation for White women was -0.167 and for Black women was -0.106. Separate equations for estimation of height based on age and arm-span were developed for women of the two races: height of White women (cm) = 29.58-(0.04 x age) + (0.81 x arm-span); height of Black women (cm) = 37.72-(0.01 x age) + (0.73 x arm-span).