Estimation of Regional Body Surface Area Covered by Clothing

Abstract

This study was aimed to present body surface area covered by clothing (Acov) based on directly measured regional body surface area (RBSA). A total of 34 males and 31 females participated as subjects. Whole body surface area (BSA) for the 65 subjects was directly measured with a coating method using alginate. The whole BSA was demarcated into 142 body regions based on anthropometrical standard points and circumferences. The average values for 34 males and 31 females were presented as a representative Acov for each body region. A total of 70 and 100 garment drawings illustrating each Acov were presented for male and female, respectively. The Acov presented in this study are more valid than Acov estimated by photometric methods, because the Acov of the present study was based on the directly measured RBSA. Also, comprehensive combinations can be obtained by the sum or subtraction of the segmented Acov which are presented in this study. From a practical viewpoint it is more useful to present the segmented Acov than presenting the Acov of typical clothing ensembles, because the segmented Acov enable researchers to combine the particular type of clothing which is given to the research team. Further, we observed that the surface area of ‘a palm’ had a mean of approximately 1% of total BSA. The ‘1%-Palm Print’ can be applied for the quick and convenient estimation of RBSA in the monitoring stage of exposure assessment as a rough approximation.