Prediction of body volume by a stepwise linear regression technique

Body volume and 35 anthropometric measurements were obtained from 88 active soldiers using standard techniques. These anthropometric measurements were examined for their possible relationships to body volume using stepwise linear regression analysis. Four measurements (Body weight, anterior thigh skinfold thickness, subscapular skinfold thickness and suprailiac skinfold thickness) accounted for 99.7% of the variation in body volume and the introduction of each of these measurements in the equation was significant. The regression equation for predicting body volume from these 4 anthropometric measurements had a multiple correlation coefficient of 0.9987 (P less than 0.001). Body weight alone was correlated with body volume to the extent of 0.9966. An attempt has therefore been made to develop a multiple linear regression equation without incorporation of body weight in the regression analysis. Nine measurements were selected by stepwise linear regression analysis for predicting body volume. These nine measurements accounted for 97.1% of the variation in body volume. These equations have been validated on another small sample of 22 soldiers. The analysis has also revealed that a direct regression of body density from the anthropometric variables gives more accurate results than when estimated body volumes are utilized for calculating body density.