Patent ID: 7918794

Claim:
A method of determining the total body fat of a person, comprising: measuring, with an ultrasonic probe, a subcutaneous fat thickness at four points on the person's body, located in the right anterior part of the left mid-thigh, in the left anterior part of the right mid-thigh, in the right dorsal part of the body at navel level and in the left dorsal part of the body at navel level, respectively; and determining, with a computer, a first estimate of the person's total body fat as a function of only the following parameters: the subcutaneous fat thickness measurements at said four points; the body mass index of the person, defined as the ratio of the person's weight in kilograms to the square of the person's height in meters; the waist perimeter passing through the navel of the person; the sex of the person; and the average of the left and right leg perimeters passing at mid-thigh; wherein the first estimate of the person's total body fat is obtained using the equation below: FAT=a×BMI+b×T nav,l +c×T nav,r +d×WP+e×T thigh,r +f×T thigh,l +g×AP thigh +constant, where FAT is the first estimate of the total body fat in kg, BMI is the ratio of the person's weight in kg to the square of his height in m, WP is the waist perimeter passing through the navel, AP thigh is the average of the left and right leg perimeters passing at mid-thigh, T nav,l , T nav,r , T thigh,r and T thigh,l , are the fat thicknesses measured in the left dorsal part at navel level, in the right dorsal part at navel level, in the right anterior part of the left mid-thigh and in the left anterior part of the right mid-thigh, in mm, respectively, and where a=0.959, b=0.119, c=−0.044, d=0.13, e=0.586, f=−0.329, g=0.061 and constant=−23.88, when the person is of the female sex; and a=0.733, b=−0.053, c=0.102, d=0.27, e=0.155, f=−0.106, g=0.015 and constant=−31.21 when the person is of the male sex.