Literature Review

1) The Vitruvian man's proportions

"... it was made as a study of the proportions of the (male) human body as described in Vitruvius: ... the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is a quarter of a man's height"


Source: The Vitruvian man's proportions. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2011, from http://www.davincithevilla.com/vitruvproportions.htm



2) A comparison of three methods for estimating height in the acutely ill elderly population

"Most estimates of nutritional status rely on accurate recording of not only body weight but also height. In many older people it is difficult, if not impossible, to measure standing height accurately because of mobility problems and kyphosis. Measurements of other body segments can be used as an alternative to estimate standing height. These include arm length (Mitchell & Lipschitz, 1982), knee height (Chumlea et al., 1985), armspan (Haboubi et al., 1990; Kwok & Whitelaw, 1991) and demi-span (Bassey, 1986). All these rely on measuring long bones that do not lose length over time in the same way as the spine. The literature shows that these measures are repeatable, reproducible and demonstrate high correlation coefficients with height."

Source: Hickson, M & Frost, G. (2003). A comparison of three methods for estimating height in the acutely ill elderly population. The British Dietetic Association Ltd 2003 J Hum Nutr Dietet, 16, pp. 13–20.