A physical therapy assessment format, where body measurements are physically made using tools and instrument.

1. Anthropometric
Measurements
Radhika Chintamani

2.  Definition
 Purpose
 Measurements and techniques
 Ratios and proportions
 Physique
 Measurement variability and quality control
 Applications of anthropometry
Contents:

3.  Anthropometry is a series of systematized techniques
that express quantitatively the dimensions of the human
body.
 It is the traditional and basic tool of biological
anthropology, used in physical education and physical
activity and also sport sciences.
Definition:

4.  Describes a series of dimensions and several ratios that have
relevance to the physical activity and sports sciences.
 Body size and proportions, physique and body composition
are important factors in physical performance and fitness.
 It enhances the difference between overweight and obesity.
 Body size, particularly weight, is the standard frame of
reference for expressing physiological parameters, whereas
skin fold thickness are used to estimate body composition.
Purpose:

5.  Gender :
Males have less fat and more muscle .
Fat accumulation regions are different for men and women .
 Aging :
Stature decreases and body weight increases after 30 years
Body weight decreases after 50(M), 60(F) .
 Ethnicity
Lower body weights for those who live in tropical countries.
body proportions differ depending on ethnicity.
Differences diminish due to migration.
 Occupation
FACTORS AFFECTING ANTHROPOMETRY

6.  Anthropometry involves the use of carefully defined body landmarks
for measurements, specific subject positioning for these measurements,
and the use of appropriate instruments.
 Measurements are generally divided into mass (weight), lengths and
height (stature), breaths or widths, depths, circumferences or girths,
curvatures arcs, and soft-tissue measurements (skin folds).
 Anthropometry is non-invasive in a physiological sense. All
measurements are external dimensions of the body or its parts.
 Anthropometry is highly objective and highly reliable in the hands of
trained anthropometrists.
Measurements and techniques:

7.  Numerous special measurements for specific body
parts can be defined, especially for the head, face, hand
and the foot.
 The key issue is selection of measurement depends on
the purpose of the study.

8.  Weight and height (stature) are the two most often used
anthropometric dimensions.
 Body weight is a measure of body mass. It is a
heterogeneous measure, a composite of many tissues
that often vary independently.
 Height (stature) is a linear measurement of the distance
from the floor or standing surface to the top (vertex) of
the skull. It is a composite of linear dimensions
contributed by the lower extremities, the trunk, the
neck, and the head.
Overall body size:

9.  Height (stature) and weight shows diurnal variation or
variation in the dimension during the course of a day.
 Height (stature) is greatest in morning upon arising
from bed and decreases as the individuals assumes
upright posture and walks about. Also, weight is
lightest in morning and increases as the day goes on.

10.  Sitting height, as the name implies, the height (stature) of the
individual while sitting. It is measured as the distance from the
sitting surface to the top of the head with the individual seated in
the standard position.
 Most of the diurnal variation occurs in the trunk and thus
influences sitting height.
Specific segment lengths:

11.  Breadth or width measurements are taken across specific bone
landmarks and therefore provides an indication of the sturdiness
of the skeleton.
 Skeletal breadths are commonly taken from four landmarks:
 Biacromial breadth: measures the distance across right and left
acromial processes of the scapulae and thus provides an
indication of shoulder breadth.
Skeletal breadths:

13.  Bicristal breadth: measures the distance across
the most lateral parts of the iliac crests and thus
provide an indication of the hip breadth.
 Biepicondylar breadth: measures the distance
across the bony epicondyles of the humerus.
 Bicondylar breadth: measures the distance
across the bony condyles of the femur.

17.  Limb circumferences are used as indicator of
relative muscularity. However, that a
circumference includes bone, surrounded by a
mass of muscle tissue, which is ringed by a layer
of subcutaneous fat. It doesn’t provide a measure
of muscle tissue.
 The two more commonly sites where limb
circumferences are taken as follows:
Circumferences:

18.  Arm circumference: measured with the arm
hanging relaxed at the side, from the point midway
between the acromial and olecranon processes.
 calf circumference: measured as the maximum
circumference of the calf with the subject in a
standing position and the weight evenly distributed
between both legs.

21.  Thigh circumference: occasionally utilized in the
physical activity and sport science, primarily from
the prespective of estimating thigh muscle
volume. They include three thigh circumferences
at the gluteal furrow (proximal thigh
circumference), at the distance one-third of
subischial height (stature) up from the tibial-
femoral joint space and at the minimum
circumference above the knee and anterior and
posterior thigh skinfolds in the midline at the one-
third subischial height (stature) level.

23. 
FIGURE OF 8 FOR EDEMA

24.  Length of limb segments can be measured either directly between two
skeletal landmarks or as vertical distance between a constant flat
surface (as the floor) and a skeletal landmark
 Inequality of lower limb length will:
* Affect gait pattern (function).
* Create degenerative changes in weight bearing joints.
* Cause deformities, which may be non-structural at first, then become
structural. Unilateral shortening of lower limb leads to pelvic tilt,
scoliosis, dropping of shoulder and tilting of head.
 The tape method is the most widely used method and is also reliable.
LIMB LENGTH

25. INSTRUMENT
segometer
Procedure:
•With shoes on
•With shoes off
•Supine
•Standing

27.  Segmental length :
Upper limb :

28. Lower limb:

29.  Skin fold thickness are indicators of subcutaneous fat, the portion
of the body fat located immediately beneath the skin.
 Skin folds are a double fold of skin and underlying subcutaneous
tissue at specific sites.
 The following skin fold thickness are relevant in the physical
activity and sport sciences:
 The triceps skinfold: measured on the back of the arm over the
triceps muscle at the same level as relaxed arm circumference
(midway the olecranon and the acromial processes).
 The biceps skinfold: measured on the anterior aspect of the arm
over the biceps muscle at the same level as relaxed arm
circumference.
Skin fold thickness: Yuhasz Method — %body fat from skinfold
results.

30.  The subscapular skinfold: measured on the back just beneath the
inferior angle of the scapula.
 The suprailiac skinfold: measured immediately above the iliac crest
in the midaxillary line.
 The abdominal skinfold: measured as a horizontal fold 3cm lateral
and 1cm inferior to the umbilicus.
 The thigh skinfold: measured over the anterior aspect of the thigh in
the midline midway between the inguinal crease and proximal
border of the patella.
 The medial calf skinfold: measured on the inside of the calf at the
same level as calf circumference, i.e., at maximum circumference.
 The lateral calf skinfold: measured on the lateral aspect of the calf at
the same level as calf circumference.

32.  The distance from the left to the right dactylion when the palms are
facing forward and the outstretched arms are abducted to the
horizontal.
 The measurement can be made by anthropometric tape or against a
calibrated wall chart with marked distances.
ARM SPAN

33.  Is measured using a calibrated weighing machine scales
 The subject should be weighed with minimum clothing or with clothing of
known weight .
 Ideally the subject should be weighed at the same time of the day each time
he has to be weighed . Preferably early morning i.e 12hrs after the last meal
and voiding.
 The subject should be standing with
weight distributed equally on both legs ,
looking straight forward .
BODY WEIGHT

34.  There are four general techniques for measuring stature which yield
slightly different values : freestanding stature, stature against the wall,
recumbent length and stretch stature.
 The measurement is taken as the maximum vertical distance from the
floor to the vertex of the head.
 The subject should be bare foot
HEIGHT (STRETCH STATURE)

35.  Measurements can be related to each other in the form
of indices or ratios.
 These are ordinarily calculated by dividing the larger
measurements into the smaller measurements. Thus
providing information on shape and proportions.
Ratios and proportions:
Body mass index (BMI):
 The relationship between weight and height (stature) is
commonly expressed in the form of the body mass index.
 Weight/height (stature)2 (kg/m2)
 The BMI gives an idea of overweight and obesity especially in
adults.

38.  The ratio of sitting height to stature provides an estimate of
relative trunk length and conversely, relative leg length.
 Sitting height x 100
Stature
 Commonly used in nutritional surveys as an indirect indicator of
the effects of adverse nutritional circumstances on the lower
extremities.
Sitting height/stature:

39. Higher ratios tend to be characteristic of chronically undernourished population.
The ratio is also useful in studies of population variation.
For Eg.: ratio is lower in American blacks (indicating longer lower extremities)
than in American whites.

40.  The ratio of bicristal breadth to biacromial breadth relates the
breadth of the hips (lower trunk) to that of the shoulders (upper
trunk).
 Bicristal breadth x 100
Biacromial breadth
 Useful indicator of gender differences in the proportional
relationship of the shoulders and hips.
 The ratio is higher, on the average, in girls than in boys at all
ages during childhood and adolescence, and this difference
persists into adulthood.
 Thus, females have broader hips relative to shoulder, while males
have broader shoulders relative to hips.
Bicristal breadth/Biacromial breadth:

41.  Waist and hip circumferences are expressed as the waist/hip
ratio. Waist circumference is an indicator of adipose tissue in the
waist and abdominal area; hip circumference is an indicator of
adipose tissue over the buttocks and hips.
 Thus ratio provides an index of relative fat distribution in adults,
the higher the ratio the greater the proportion of abdominal fat.
Waist/hip:
Waist height ratio:
 Waist circumference/height of the person.
 Higher the ratio higher risk of obesity and CVD.

42.  Ratios are influenced by the relationship between the two
variables and that the two dimensions change in a linear manner.
 Ratios are also affected by the measurement variability
associated with each dimension.
Limitations:

43.  Physique is the individual’s body form, the configuration of the entire
body rather than of specific features.
 Physique is referred to as body build.
 Many studies have been done taking into consideration with physique and
performance and physiques characteristic of athletes in a variety of sports.
 Physique is often expressed in the context of the somatotype. An
individual’s somatotype is a composition of the contributions of three
compoments: endomorphy (predominance of digestie organs, softness and
roundness of contours throughout the body), mesomophory (predominance
of muscle, bone and connective tissues) and ectomorphy (predominance of
surface area over body mass, linearity).
Physique:

44.  The derivation equations for each component are as follows:
 Endomorphy -0.7182 + 0.1451*∑SF - 0.00068*∑SF2 +
0.0000014*∑SF3 [where (SF = sum of triceps, subscapular and
supraspinale skinfolds multiplied by (170.18/ height in cms)]
 Mesomorphy - 0.858*humerus breadth +0.601*femur breadth +
0.188* corrected arm girth + 0.161*corrected calf girth -
height*0.131 + 4.5

45.  Ectomorphy
 One of three equations is used depending on the value of the
calculated Height Weight Ratio (HWR) of the subject. [HWR is
height/mass.333].
1. If HWR is greater than, or equal to 40.75 then
ectomorphy = 0.732*HWR - 28.58.
2. If HWR is less than 40.75 and greater than 38.25 then
ectomorphy = 0.463*HWR - 17.63.
3 . If HWR is equal to or less than 38.25 then
ectomorphy = 0.1.

46. THREE-DIMENSIONAL BODY
SCANNER
Three dimensional photonic scanning
uses high-speed digital cameras to detect
the positions of laser light points
projected onto the surface of an object
and reflected to the cameras. Software
connects the points to generate a 3-D
image that is used to determine values
for body circumferences, lengths, width,
volumes, and thickness.
Recent advances

47.  Anthropometry have a variety of applications, including description and
comparison, evaluation of interventions and identification of individuals
or groups at risk. It also describes the morphological status of an
individual or a sample.
 It is often used as an outcome variable in evaluating intervention such as
the effects of exercise and weight reduction on body weight and
subcutaneous fat or the effects of resistance training on muscle girths.
 It can also be used as a mediator variable in evaluating interventions
For eg., the effects of exercises and dietary interventions on serum
cholesterol may be mediated by their effects on body weight and fatness.
 Finally, anthropometry is often used to identify individuals at risk who
may require special attention.
Applications of anthropometry:

48.  Robert M. Malina Physiological assessment of
human fitness, University of Texas.
 C.G.N. Mas Talor. Anthropometry: the individual
and the population.
Refernces:

49. Thank YOU