Estimating percentage total body fat and determining subcutaneous adipose tissue distribution with a new noninvasive optical device LIPOMETER.

A newly developed optical device was applied to measure the subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) thickness of 20 healthy women and 18 healthy men at specified body sites. These measurements were used to derive equations to estimate percentage total body fat (TBF%). Total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) was employed as a reference method; caliper techniques and measurements of absorbances of infrared light in fat versus lean tissue were also compared. The LIPOMETER results show good agreement with TOBEC data (r = 0.96). The technique allows the precise determination of the distribution of SAT thickness at specified body sites. The method also permits the construction of profiles of SAT thicknesses, e.g., the profiles are significantly different between women and men. Based on the normal profiles of healthy subjects, patients with proven type-2 diabetes mellitus were also evaluated. The patients showed significantly different profiles. By linear discriminant analysis, classification functions were extracted with good predictive accuracy classification of subjects according to the presence or absence of type-2 diabetes mellitus. The data suggest that measurement of SAT thickness might aid in the diagnosis and/or classification of metabolic disorders. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 12:221-230, 2000. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.