A brief history of body composition—from F. D. Moore to the new Reference Man

Abstract.

The history of applying body composition measurements to physiology is short, well less than a century. Progress has been phenomenal, on three different fronts: tracer dilution methods, neutron activation methods, and imaging methods. The latter have seen the most recent and exciting advances, and we have probably just “scratched the surface” for the futures of imaging, with spectroscopy showing great promise. However the physiological principles established in the 1950–1980 era are the reason we are here; measurements that lead to diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of disease mechanisms. The future is very bright.