Body fat in adult man: semicentenary of fat density and skinfolds

Several studies carried out in the last 50 years on body fat in adult man are reported. Firstly, the terminology is clarified, then the new values of the density of fat extracted from adipose tissue from human and some laboratory and domestic animals are presented. The density of subcutaneous and visceral fat of five human subjects is 900 kg/m(3) at 37degreesC. A few of the drawbacks of the densitometric method for human body composition analysis are described. Finally, the first appropriate calipers for skinfold thickness measurement are illustrated, i.e., the adaptation of Glogau's Vernier caliper, the improved Best caliper, and the Meikosha caliper. Comparisons of measurements of triceps and subscapular skinfolds obtained with these calipers are reported.