Medico-Legal Update
  • Year: 2018
  • Volume: 18
  • Issue: 2

Body Weight estimation from Footprint Anthropoetry in Lun Bawang ethnic of east Malaysia

1Associate Professor of Forensic Sciences, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

2Forensic Division Chemistry Department of Malaysia, Kuching, Sarawak State, East Malaysia

*Corresponding Author: T. Nataraja Moorthy Associate Professor of Forensic Sciences, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail: natrajamoorthy@rediffmail.com nataraajan64@msu.edu.my

Online published on 21 July, 2018.

Abstract

Footprint is an important physical evidence and weight is a biometric trait. Body weight involves a variety of cultural and physical variables. Limited studies were conducted correlating body weight and footprint. Hence the present study was aimed to develop regression equations to estimate body weight from footprint lengths, collected from 200 consented Lun Bawangs in east Malaysia. The results show that all footprint lengths exhibit statistically positive significant correlation with body weight. The correlation coefficient (R) in pooled sample (0.235–0.296) is found to be comparatively higher than those of male (0.125–0.144), and females (0.083–0.138). The result findings have been presented in the form of tables. The equations derived for pooled sample can be used even when the sex of the footprint owner remains unknown.

Keywords

Forensic anthropology, Body weight, footprint length, Lun Bawangs, east Malaysia