Prediction equations for body composition of Japanese adults by B-mode ultrasound

A total of 117 Japanese subjects (62 men and 55 women) volunteered for the study. Subcutaneous adipose tissue (AT) and muscle thicknesses were measured by B-mode ultrasonography at nine sites of the body. Body density (BD) was determined the hydrodensitometry. Reproducibility of thickness measurements by ultrasonography was high (r = 0.96-0.99). Correlations between AT thickness and BD ranged from -0.46 (gastrocnemius) to -0.87 (abdomen) for males and -0.46 (gastrocnemius) to -0.84 (abdomen) for females. A higher negative correlation (r = -0.89) was observed for the sum of AT thicknesses (forearm, biceps, triceps, abdomen, subscapula, quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior) both in males and in females. Slightly lower coefficients were observed between muscle thickness and LBM (r = 0.36 to r = 0.70 for males and r = 0.44 to r = 0.55 for females). Prediction equations for BD and LBM from AT and muscle thickness were obtained by multiple regression analysis. Cross-validation on a separate sample (33 men and 44 women) showed an accurate prediction for BD. The present findings suggest that B-mode ultrasonography can be applied in clinical assessment and field surveys. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.