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Related Experiment Videos

Predicting percent body fat from circumference measurements

C L Shake1, C Schlichting, L W Mooney

  • 1Biomedical Sciences Department, Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, CT 06349-5900.

Military Medicine
|January 1, 1993
PubMed
Summary

The U.S. Navy's body fat measurement method (circumference equation) inaccurately classifies service members, leading to a significant false positive rate. This impacts personnel retention and career decisions.

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Area of Science:

  • Military health
  • Body composition assessment
  • Physiological standards

Background:

  • U.S. Navy service members must meet body fat percentage (%BF) standards.
  • Exceeding %BF standards can lead to separation from active duty.
  • Current %BF predictions use circumference measurements and a prediction equation (CEQ).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To validate the accuracy of the CEQ for predicting %BF in a population identified as overfat.
  • To assess the impact of CEQ accuracy on personnel retention and career decisions.
  • To evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of the CEQ.

Main Methods:

  • Compared %BF values determined by hydrostatic weighing (HW) and CEQ.
  • Used a validation group of men (≥22%BF) and women (≥30%BF).

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  • Analyzed data using a medical diagnostic model and compared to original NHRC population data.

    • Main Results:

    • Correlation coefficients for the validation group were lower than the original NHRC group.
    • Lower accuracy is attributed to restricted data range and prediction error at extreme values.
    • The CEQ produced a 6.8% to 18% false positive rate for excess body fat.

    Conclusions:

    • Caution is advised when using the CEQ for individual career decisions.
    • The current Navy %BF prediction method has significant limitations.
    • Inaccurate body fat assessments may negatively affect service members' careers.