Relative merits of old and new indices of body mass with reference to skinfold

Correlation coefficients among the various commonly used indices of body mass and measures of skinfold thickness were calculated using 16,459 adult Black and white samples derived from the data sets ofthe US Health and Nutritional Examination Survey I of 1971 to 1974. Compared to weight and weight-height cube ratio, weight-height square ratio, and weight-heightt' ratio exhibit the highest correlation with skinfold thickness. Furthermore, weight-height square ratio and weight-height" ratio showed the same amount of correlation with skinfolds. Therefore, weight-height" ratio is not the best indicator of adiposity. It is concluded that weight-height square ratio along with measures of subcutaneous fat such as skinfold thickness would provide adequate information about body size and body fatness. The applicability of weiht-height" is limited to studies concerned with interpopulation comparisons of body mass and where there are differences in height. Am J Clin Nutr 1982:36:697-699.