Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 20, 2026
06:48
Author Spotlight: Advancements in 3D Optical Imaging for Comprehensive Body Composition Assessment in Modern Research
Published on: June 7, 2024
2.2K
Reliability of 3D laser-based anthropometry and comparison with classical anthropometry
Andreas Kuehnapfel1,2, Peter Ahnert1,2, Markus Loeffler1,2
1LIFE Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Scientific Reports
|May 27, 2016
Summary
3D body scanning (BS) offers a reliable and valid alternative to classical anthropometry (CA) in epidemiologic research. While slightly more time-consuming, BS is better accepted and provides comparable or superior reliability for many body measurements.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Epidemiology
- Anthropometry
Background:
- Anthropometric measurements are crucial in epidemiologic research for identifying confounders, risk factors, and outcomes.
- Classical manual anthropometry (CA) is the traditional method, but it involves physical contact and can be time-consuming.
- 3D laser-based body scanning (BS) offers a non-contact method for rapid assessment of numerous body measurements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare 3D body scanning (BS) with classical manual anthropometry (CA) regarding feasibility, reliability, and validity.
- To assess the intra- and inter-rater reliability of both BS and CA methods.
- To determine the validity of BS measurements by comparing them to CA as the gold standard.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 108 individuals with multiple measurements using both BS and CA.
- Estimation of intra- and inter-rater reliabilities for all recorded quantities.
- Development of BS equivalents for CA measurements and assessment of agreement using the overall concordance correlation coefficient (OCCC).
Main Results:
- 3D body scanning was better accepted by participants than CA, despite being slightly more time-consuming.
- Both BS and CA demonstrated high reliability, with CA showing OCCCs > 0.8 for all nine quantities, and BS having only 9 out of 154 quantities below 0.7 reliability.
- BS proxies for CA measurements showed good agreement (minimum OCCC > 0.77) after offset correction, with comparable reliabilities overall, though thigh length was more reliable with BS and upper arm length with CA.
Conclusions:
- 3D body scanning is a feasible, reliable, and valid method for anthropometric assessment in epidemiologic research.
- BS offers comparable or improved reliability over CA for many measurements and is better accepted by participants.
- BS is a promising alternative to CA, particularly for large-scale studies where efficiency and participant comfort are important.
