7
Skinfolds
Biceps, Triceps, Subscapular, Suprailiac, Abdominal, Thigh and Calf.
The method
What is ENFA®?
It is an innovative method created to support you in the Nutritional Assessment of your patients. This approach makes it possible to evaluate each person in a fully individual and specific way, defining the most appropriate nutrition plan for every patient.
5 body components
25 measurements
Since 1996
ENFA®
Nutritional Assessment by Anthropometric Fractionation
The only method that determines the Nutritional Diagnosis from the Protein Reserve and the Caloric Reserve. It meets the 4 conditions the WHO requires for a methodology to be applicable in professional practice:
Safety
Feasibility
Reproducibility
Low operating cost
How it is measured
Methodology
25 surface measurements taken with calibrated instruments. Each group of measurements determines a different body mass.
7
8
Bone breadths
Wrist, Humerus, Femur, Ankle, Biacromial, Antero-posterior of the Chest, Bi-iliac and Bitrochanteric.
7
Muscle girths
Forearm, Relaxed biceps, Flexed biceps, Chest, Abdomen, Thigh and Calf.
3
Height and weight
Standing height, sitting height and body weight. They are involved in the calculation of every mass and of the residual mass.
The fractionation
The body, fractionated into 5 masses
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Skeletal massIt is calculated from the breadths of the wrist, humerus, femur and ankle. It is the reference against which the necessary muscle and fat mass are determined.
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Muscle massIt is calculated from the girths of the biceps, forearm, chest, thigh and calf.
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Fat massIt is calculated from the 7 skinfolds (biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, abdominal, thigh and calf).
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Visceral massIt is calculated from the biacromial, antero-posterior of the chest, bi-iliac and bitrochanteric breadths and from the abdominal girth.
-
Residual massIt corresponds to extracellular water. It emerges when structural weight is compared with actual weight and explains excess weight caused by fluid retention.
Structural weight
The sum of the skeletal, muscle, fat and visceral masses defines the Structural Weight. In normal subjects it equals actual weight; when it does not, the difference is the residual mass.
Nutritional Diagnosis
It is determined by two ratios defined by Dr. Basaluzzo:
Protein ReserveMuscle mass / skeletal massNormal: 2.15 – 2.72 (adults)
Caloric ReserveFat mass / skeletal massNormal: 0.85 – 1.47 (adults)
Who created it
Founders of the method
I started teaching at the Universidad de Buenos Aires when I was 24, and years later life led me to research alongside Dr. Basaluzzo, my mentor. Together we created the ENFA® Method.
Since 1996 I have been working on this method to give health professionals a nutritional assessment tool that can be used at both the individual and the population level.
Since then, I have used this method to evaluate different clinical conditions and physiological situations, including mid- and high-level competitive sports.
I have always questioned the current paradigms of traditional nutrition, challenging established knowledge and choosing theoretical frameworks based on research and experience in clinical practice.
Nutritional assessment is essential to our professional practice, and our goal is to maintain normal body reserves while respecting each person's preferences, habits and choices.
My work is to share and pass on my experience so that this goal can be achieved through ENFA®.
Dr. Alicia M Witriw
Founder of the ENFA® Method
PhD in Health Sciences
Master's in Education
Researcher and Professor, Universidad de Buenos Aires
PhD in Health Sciences
Master's in Education
Researcher and Professor, Universidad de Buenos Aires
Dr. José María BasaluzzoCreator of the ENFA Method
Dr. José María Basaluzzo (1934-2014), a pioneering scientist and physician, stood out in different areas of Medicine for his knowledge, judgment and empathy toward patients. A physician specialized in Intensive Care, he was a founding member and past president of the Asociación Argentina de Nutrición Enteral y Parenteral, and a Consulting Physician at the Hospital de Clínicas of the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). A pioneer in several areas of Medicine, he published hundreds of papers nationally and internationally, leaving an unmatched legacy in the field of Health.
We keep growing
There are more of us every day
More and more of us anthropometrists are applying the ENFA® method to improve the health of our patients
5+Countries
420+Anthropometrists
15000+Patients
12500+Reports
Join the ENFA® Community and transform your Nutrition Practice
Weight, height or isolated measurements are not enough to carry out a Nutritional Assessment. Do you want to be innovative and specific in your practice? Apply the ENFA® method! The only method that determines a Nutritional Diagnosis and lets you define the specific nutritional therapy for your patient.