Proposal for standard values of muscle thickness of the anterior thigh in a supine position in Japanese adults

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to propose the standard values of muscle thickness at the middle of the anterior thigh, which would become helpful guidelines in promoting prevention of decreasing mobility. Four hundred thirty-two Japanese adults (176 males and 257 females) whose age ranged between 20 and 82 participated in this study. We measured the thickness of their subcutaneous fat and muscles in the anterior thigh during a supine position using A-mode ultrasound device. In both the male and the female groups, the muscle thickness decreased with aging. In female over 60 years old group, the decrease accelerated. Because the muscle thickness was related to body height and weight, this study proposed that the muscle thickness(mm)・height(m)・weight(kg)^<-1> is an index of muscle thickness for assessment. Furthermore, we proposed the standard values of the index at each generation; 1.0 (twenties), 0.95 (thirties), 0.9 (forties), 0.85 (fifties), 0.8 (sixties), and 0.7 (seventies).