I . Skinfold thickness and body density were measured on 105 young adult men and women 2. The correlation coefficients between the skinfold thicknesses, either single or multiple, A simple method of assessing quantitatively the fat content of the human body, which could be used not only in laboratories and in hospital, but in field studies and in general medical practice, would be invaluable. Methods in use at present, based on measurements of body density, body water or body potassium, can be applied only in the laboratory and usually to small numbers of subjects.Several previous papers have suggested relationships between one of the accepted methods of determining body fat and a simpler technique which could be widely applied. As early as 1921, Matiegka (1921) formulated an equation for calculating body fat from measurements of surface area and six skinfold thicknesses. Brotek & Keys (1951) were the first to use the relationship between skinfold thickness and body density for assessing fat content. The skinfolds chosen were not ideal and their formula has not been widely used. Pascale, Grossman, Sloane & Frankel (1956) in the USA produced an equation, and PaPizkovL (1961 a ) in Czechoslovakia a nomogram, for predicting fat content from skinfold thicknesses. Steinkamp, Cohen, Gaffey, McKay, Bron, Siri, Sargent & Isaacs (196 j ) gave predictive equations based on measurements of body circumferences and skinfold thicknesses on 167 subjects in California. The only comparable attempt on a British population, to our knowledge, is a study on twenty-four hospital patients, measurements being made of total body water and skinfold thickness (Fletcher, 1962).Information about a wide range of body types in population groups in Britain is required. The present paper describes a study on 105 young adults and 86 adolescents. By means of results from measurements by anthropometry including skinfold thicknesses and body density, an attempt has been made to formulate simple equations for the prediction of the quantity of fat in the body. The subjects were of varying body build-thin, intermediate, plump, but very few were obese.https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi

The impact of a water, sanitation and hygiene education intervention project on diarrhoeal morbidity in children under 5 years old was evaluated in a rural area of Bangladesh. Data were collected throughout 1984-1987, covering both pre- and post-intervention periods, from an intervention and a control area. The 2 areas were similar with respect to most socio-economic characteristics and baseline levels of diarrhoeal morbidity. The project showed a striking impact on the incidence of all cases of diarrhoea, including dysentery and persistent diarrhoea. By the end of the study period, children in the intervention area were experiencing 25% fewer episodes of diarrhoea than those in the control area. This impact was evident throughout the year, but particularly in the monsoon season, and in all age groups except those less than 6 months old. Within the intervention area, children from households living closer to handpumps or where better sanitation habits were practised experienced lower rates of diarrhoea. These results suggest that an integrated approach to environmental interventions can have a significant impact on diarrhoeal morbidity.

Six anthropometric indicators based on weight, height, arm circumference (AC), and age were examined to predict mortality risk of children aged 12-59 mo in a rural area of Teknaf, Bangladesh. In the period 1981-85, 9861 measurements at 6-mo intervals were made on 2449 children. For all indices mortality risk was greater in the first 3 mo than in the second 3 mo in severely malnourished children. Mortality discriminating power of the indicators in terms of sensitivity and specificity was highest for AC and AC for age and lowest for weight-for-height. Logistic regression analysis showed that the predictive power of weight-, height-, and age-based indicators improved after adding AC whereas predictive power of AC did not improve after adding weight-based indicators. The relative risk of death in children with ACs measuring less than or equal to 120 mm was 12 times higher than in those whose ACs measured greater than 140 mm.

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This study examines the effect of maternal personal and domestic hygiene on the incidence of diarrhoea in children aged 6-23 months from rural areas around Teknaf, Bangladesh. The intervention area received augmented water supply through handpumps and health education while the control area received no project inputs. From July 1980 to June 1983, diarrhoea incidence was recorded weekly while mothers' personal and domestic hygiene was observed yearly. Annual incidence of diarrhoea in 314 children from the intervention area and 309 children from the control area was analysed in relation to maternal personal and domestic hygiene, controlling for education and occupation of household head and household size. Results show that, in both areas, use of handpump water for drinking and washing, removal of child's faeces from the yard, and maternal handwashing before handling food and after defaecation of self and child, observed together, decreased yearly diarrhoea incidence in children by more than 40% compared to children living in households where none or only one of these practices was observed.