Indirect estimation of body surface area and volume

¹ Division of Chemistry, U.S. Naval Medical Research Institute, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland

A convenient and rapid photographic technique of obtaining data which can be used for the calculation of human body surface area is described. The results, which are in good agreement with values obtained by a reliable method of readings from a chart, provide additional support for the application of the increasingly important photographic method of quantitation in human biology. Data have also been obtained which suggest that the surface area of dogs may satisfactorily be estimated by the same previously reported chart method used for human beings. Empirical equations for the calculation of body volume (and density) in man, based essentially on measurements of weight and height, have been developed and tested in respect to measured values obtainable from the literature. Statistical evaluation and the criteria of convenience and rapidity in use, rather than more restrictive theoretical considerations, indicate the superiority of predominantly empirical relationships as the methods of choice for the prediction of body volume. Comparison of the reliability of the results with those obtainable by established methods of quantitation indicates that these equations may be useful as approximate, but most convenient indices of gross body composition.