Replicability of measurements of density of the human body as determined by underwater weighing

Abstract

Ten healthy young men were maintained for a period of 2 weeks on a diet, the calorific value of which exactly equaled their energy expenditure. During this period measurements of body density by underwater weighing were made on several occasions to determine the reproducibility. The standard error of a single observation was 0.0023 units of density. The replicability of the method seems satisfactory, since the formulas used to estimate total body fat do not justify a technique where the accuracy would be better than that obtained here. Submitted on May 11, 1959