Influence of anthropometric parameters and body composition in thermographic images

Abstract

Infrared thermography has been recently used to measure skin temperature (Tsk) in both medicine and sports medicine. However, to obtain a quality thermographic image, it is necessary to observe intervening factors to avoid misinterpretation of the results, including anthropometric and body composition factors. Therefore, the objective of this narrative review is to establish how anthropometric and body composition parameters can affect the Tsk response, thus influencing the assessement of thermographic images. The results of this study point to a high level of influence of the body surface and, especially, of the amount of body fat in the expected Tsk pattern of normality evaluated by infrared thermography, being the subjects with higher amount of body fat who present lower Tsk values compared to those with lower body fat, which is something that should be considered when evaluating the general population and athletes with different body composition patterns.