Reference values for arm muscle area, arm fat area, subscapular skinfold thickness, and sum of skinfold thicknesses for American adults.

Reference values for the mid-upper arm muscle area, mid-upper arm fat area, subscapular skinfold thickness, and sum of triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses of American adults were developed from data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics during the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1971 to 1974. The reference values were compared to other reference values derived from a similarly conducted cross-sectional survey of the American population, the Health Examination Survey of 1960 to 1962. These comparisons revealed that arm muscle area and subscapular skinfold thickness of men and arm muscle area of women continuously increase with aging from 18 to 74 yr; arm fat area and sum of skinfold thicknesses of men increase with aging from 18 to 34 yr but stabilize or decrease with further aging; and arm fat area, subscapular skinfold thickness, and sum of skinfold thicknesses of women increase with aging from 18 to 64 yr but decrease thereafter. As these parameters frequently change more than 20% over the period of a single decade, it is important that age be considered in nutritional evaluations based on anthropometric measurements. Changes in these four parameters with successive generations are also frequently large. Consequently, it is imperative that the reference values used in nutritional assessment protocols be updated at regular intervals.