Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The relationship between height and arm-span measurement in both sexes and different ethnic groups was studied in order to assess the use of the arm-span measurement as a suitable proxy indicator for height.
SETTING: School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University.
SUBJECTS: Five hundred and fifty-three subjects (272 male and 281 female) aged 23.3 years (s.d. 5.5).
RESULTS: Correlation coefficients (r = 0.73-0.89) indicated a clear association between arm-span measurements and height in all groups. However, arm-span was found to be significantly different (P < 0.01) from height in two ethnic groups, the Afro-Caribbean's of both sexes and Asian males. This suggests that arm-span measurements may be an inappropriate proxy for height in certain populations.
CONCLUSION: The arm-span measurement and height relationship is significantly different in Afro-Caribbean and Asian males. This suggests that any future studies attempting to use arm-span measurement as a proxy for height must consider these ethnic differences.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 398-400 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | European Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 1996 |
Keywords
- Adult
- Arm/anatomy & histology
- Asian People
- Black People
- Body Height
- Female
- Humans
- Male
- Racial Groups
- Sex Characteristics
- White People