The American journal of clinical nutrition
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A method for estimating total body fat (TBF) and the amount and distribution of adipose tissue in humans by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is described. Thirty transaxial images of subjects were taken by a nuclear magnetic imager (0.02 T). Adipose tissue volume was calculated from adipose tissue area in each image and from the distances between images. ⋯ When assessed by MRI and BWD, women contained 1.4 +/- 2.9% less and 4.7 +/- 4.0% more TBF, respectively, than when assessed by UWW. On average, 74.2% of total adipose tissue volume was situated subcutaneously. Subcutaneous fat:fat-free body weight and nonsubcutaneous fat:fat-free body weight were both significantly correlated with percent TBF but the women stored excess fat subcutaneously rather than nonsubcutaneously.