Estimation of total muscle mass from simple anthropometric measurements for adults of Igbo ethnic group of South East Nigeria

Esomonu G Ugochukwu

Annals of Bioanthropology 2016 4(2):111-117

Introduction: Skeletal muscle mass represents about 30%–40% of the total body weight, and total body skeletal muscle mass plays a significant role in both health and disease states such as maintaining and changing posture, protein synthesis, and metabolism. This study is aimed at deriving predictive equations for estimating total muscle mass from simple anthropometric measurements such as body mass index, mid-arm circumference (MAC), and triceps skinfolds (TSF) for the Igbo ethnic group of South East Nigeria. Materials and Method: Anthropometric measurements of body weight, height, MAC, and skinfold measurement were carried out on 3000 adults of the age range of 18–40. They comprised 1500 each of males and females. A prediction equation for the measurement of muscle mass was derived using the measured anthropometric parameters which include the MAC and TSF. Result: The prediction equation obtained for muscle mass (kg) using MAC alone irrespective of age and gender for the Igbo ethnic group was (0.6731× MAC + [−5.407]). Conclusion: The result of this study is relevant to medical practitioners in the evaluation and detection of depletion of muscle mass that has occurred either physiologically or pathologically in adults; it will also prove useful in the field of medical anthropology, nutrition, and sports anatomy.

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