Prediction of total body muscle mass from simple anthropometric measurements in young Indian males.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES The total body skeletal muscle mass plays a significant role in both health and disease states. Accurate measurement or prediction of muscle mass is useful in physiology, nutrition and clinical medicine. There are many prediction equations derived in the Western populations to estimate skeletal muscle mass, however, regression equations best fit the population they are derived from. There is hence a need to generate predictive equations for the Indian population. The objective of this study was to derive predictive equations for muscle mass from simple anthropometric measurements such as mid-arm circumference (MAC) and triceps skinfolds in a young Indian male population. METHODS Anthropometric measurements of body weight, height, mid-arm circumference and skinfold measurements were carried out on 66 subjects with a wide range of body mass indices. Twenty four hour urine samples were collected over a 3 day period for estimating urinary creatinine excretion, from which the total body muscle mass was inferred. Linear regression was carried out between MAC and corrected arm muscle area (CAMA) with muscle mass obtained from urinary creatinine to derive a prediction equation for muscle mass. RESULTS The prediction equation obtained for muscle mass (kg) using MAC alone was (1.641xMAC)-15.580 [r=0.72, standard error of estimate (SEE) 2.91kg] while the equation derived from CAMA alone was (0.496xCAMA)+10.183, (r=0.62, SEE=3.29kg). INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION A new prediction equation for the measurement of muscle mass was derived in young Indian men using simple anthropometric measurements such as mid-arm circumference and triceps skinfolds.