The fourth anthropometric test to help ascertain nutritional status is measurement of mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC), which estimates skeletal muscle mass. This is also a quick and easy test, in which a measuring tape is used to determine the circumference of the arm, midway between the elbow and the shoulder (where the triceps skin-fold measure was taken). Having measured the mid-arm circumference, the next step is to subtract the fat, which is represented by the triceps skin-fat thickness measurment. What remains represents muscle and lean body tissue. Plug your mid-arm circumference into this formula to derive your mid-arm muscle circumference:
•Summary of the finding of Frisancho, A.R. Am. J. Clin. Nut, 34:2540, 1981.
MAMC (cm) = mid-arm circumference—(TSF [mm] x 0.314) MAMC = mid arm muscle circumference TSF = triceps skin fold cm = centimeter mm = millimeters
Then take your MAMC and rate yourself on the chart below:
Mid-arm muscle circumference (in centimeters)*
A MAMC of 20 percent or more below the numbers on the table above would help support a diagnosis of loss of lean body mass.
These four tests—height, weight, triceps skin fold and mid-arm circumference-are not the only anthropometric measurements that can be taken. But these four are quick and easy to do and provide a good starting point for further investigation.
*230\80\8*
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