UNDERSTANDING IMMUNE-SYSTEM TESTS: TRICEPS SKIN FAT THICKNESS TEST
Next is the triceps skin-fat thickness test, a method of estimating how many of the pounds a person weighs are accounted for by fat. In other words, what percentage of the body weight is fat as opposed to bone, muscle and so on. This is a very quick and easy test. The doctor or nurse uses a skin-fold caliper, which looks something like a pair of pliers with a meter attached. A bit of skin and fat on the arm at the triceps (the muscle on the back side of the upper arm) is pinched, the caliper is gently applied and a reading is taken. It takes only a moment, and it doesn’t hurt at all. The goal is to measure the fat lying under the skin. Lean people will have little to pinch; hefty people will have more. Here are ideal figures:
Triceps Skinfold (in millimeters)*
Ages 25-64 Ages over 65
Male 12 11
Female 21 24
Figures less than half those shown above support a diagnosis of malnourishment. Numbers twice or greater than those shown above support a diagnosis of obesity (and possibly overnourished/ malnourished).
In my office, I take skin-fold measurements from six different places on the body, and calculate the percentage of body fat from all six measurements.
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March 10, 2010
Understanding Immune-System Tests- Triceps Skin Fat Thickness Test
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