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Body fat and the fat-free mass (FFM) were estimated in 36 men and 43 women deliberately chosen to represent a variety of physical types; these were 1) young sedentary, 2) "muscular," 3) younger obese, 4) older obese, and 5) older nonobese individuals of both sexes. The body fat and the FFM were estimated from measurements of body density (by total immersion in water, measurement being made of the residual volume of air present in the lungs at immersion) and from measurements of total body potassium (using a whole-body monitor to assess the natural 40K isotope present in the body). The muscular men and women and the younger obese men and women had a considerably greater FFM and thus had greater quantities of potassium than the corresponding sedentary groups. There were significantly different estimates of the FFM calculated from density and from total body K in three groups, the sedentary young men, the muscular, and the younger obese women. The density and the potassium content of the FFM appear to decline with obesity and aging. Muscular development is associated with a decrease in the density but an increase in the potassium content of the FFM.
Womersley et al. (Sun,) studied this question.