Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar;29(1):31-36.
doi: 10.1177/02601060221119247. Epub 2022 Aug 15.

Agreement between mechanical and digital skinfold callipers

Ana Catarina Vaz Pinheiro de Furtado Faria  1   2 , Diogo Vicente Martinho  2   3 , Bruno Rafael Ribeiro Abreu  2 , Bruno Rafael Costa Franco  2 , Lara Alexandre Moreira Carrilho  2 , Madalena Carraça Azaruja  2 , Pedro Miguel Tavares Mendes  4 , Mariana Duarte Simões Serra  5 , João Alexandre Teixeira Lemos  6 , João Paulo de Figueiredo  7
Affiliations

Agreement between mechanical and digital skinfold callipers

Ana Catarina Vaz Pinheiro de Furtado Faria et al. Nutr Health. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Skinfold callipers are often used in clinical practice to estimate subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness. Recently, LipoTool emerged as a potential digital system to measure skinfolds, however comparisons with competing equipment are lacking. Aim: The aim of this study was to test the agreement between two competing skinfold callipers (digital and mechanical). Methods: The sample included 22 healthy male adult participants. A certified observer measured eight skinfolds twice using different skinfold callipers (digital and mechanical). Differences between equipment were tested using Wilcoxon signed rank test The distribution of error was examined using the normality test Results: Differences between skinfold callipers were significantly in five skinfolds: triceps (Z = -3.546; P < 0.001), subscapular (Z = -3.984; P < 0.001), suprailiac (Z = 3.024; P = 0.002), supraspinale (Z = 3.885; P < 0.001), abdominal (Z z = -2.937; P = 0.003), thigh (Z = -2.224; P = 0.026) and calf (Z = -2.052; P = 0.040). Differences between callipers were constant. Conclusions: Mechanical and digital callipers tended to record different values of skinfold thickness. Clinical examination should consider equipment-related variation in fat mass estimation.

Keywords: adipose tissue; anthropometry; body composition; clinical examination; skinfold thickness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mechanical calliper.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Digital calliper.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Agreement of digital and mechanical callipers for triceps (panel a), subscapular (panel b), biceps (panel c), suprailiac (panel d), supraspinale (panel e), abdominal (panel f), thigh (panel g) and calf (panel h) skinfolds.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bland JM, Altman DG. (1986) Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. Lancet 327(8476): 307–310. - PubMed
    1. Eston R, Reilly T. (2009) Kinanthropometry and Exercise Physiology Laboratory Manual: Volume two: Anthropometry. Ottawa, ON: Routledge.
    1. Eston RG, Rowlands AV, Charlesworth S, et al. (2005) Prediction of DXA-determined whole body fat from skinfolds: Importance of including skinfolds from the thigh and calf in young, healthy men and women. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 59(5): 695–702. - PubMed
    1. Jackson AS, Pollock ML. (1985) Practical assessment of body composition. The Physician and Sportsmedicine 13(5): 76–90. - PubMed
    1. Lohman TG, Roche AF, Martorell R. (1988) Anthropometric Standardization Reference Manual. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.