|  | Abstract: |  Given the positive real numbers holds true for all positive real numbers and  , let  ,  , and  denote their arithmetic mean, geometric mean, and identric mean, respectively. It is proved that for  , the double inequality  if and only if  and  . This result complements a similar one established by H. Alzer and S.-L. Qiu [Inequalities for means in two variables, Arch. Math. (Basel) 80 (2003), 201-215]. ; |