NCJ Number
225590
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 53 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 1296-1300
Date Published
November 2008
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Since studies that have been used to predict body height and weight of victims or suspects from measurements of feet and footprints have generally involved young adults, this study generated equations that take age and sex into consideration when stature and body weight are estimated from foot and footprint dimensions.
Abstract
This study confirms that the ratio of the foot measurements to body height and weight does not remain fixed, but rather changes throughout adult life. This suggests that the contribution of the age factor is likely to render regression equations much more reliable. In most forensic cases, however, the ages of individuals cannot be determined from foot and footprint measurements. Such cases require recourse to equations that do not involve the age factor. On the other hand, when age-related information can be obtained from witnesses or other clues, the age-inclusive models proposed can be used to attain better results. The study measured the stature, body weight, foot length and breadth, heel breadth, footprint length and breadth, and footprint heel breadth of 516 volunteers (253 males and 263 females) between the ages of 17.6 and 82.9 years, using standard measurement techniques. The sample population was divided randomly into two groups. Group 1, the study group, consisted of 80 percent of the sample (n=406); the remaining 20 percent were assigned to the cross-validation group (Group 2; n=110). The first stage of the study produced equations for estimating stature and weight, using a stepwise regression technique. Their reliability was then tested on Group 2. 7 tables and 23 references