The bony chest breadth as a frame size standard in nutritional assessment.

As shown in 2201 males from western Scotland, the roentgenogrammetric bony chest breadth measurements provide a useful indication of frame size. Bony chest breadth is more highly correlated with weight than is true for stature. Weight corrections approximate 3.7 kg/cm of bony chest breadth and weight differences of 12 kg separate the average weight of males in the "small," "medium," and "large" bony chest breadth categories, respectively. Virtually unrelated to fatness per se, the bony chest breadth measurement provides a useful indication of fat free mass and, expressed as the weight/bony chest breadth ratio, it provides an independent estimate of relative fatness. Differences in frame size as measured by the bony chest breadth also relate to the 16-yr cardiovascular mortality.