Body Composition and Aging: A Study by In Vivo Neutron Activation Analysis

Human body composition can be organized into five levels; atomic, molecular, cellular, tissue-system and whole body. Six elements (carbon, nitrogen, calcium, potassium, sodium and chlorine) can be directly measured in vivo at the atomic level using three neutron-activation systems at Brookhaven National Laboratory. When combined with an estimate of total body water, the six elements can be used to quantify the major chemical components at...