Chapter 3
Basic Concepts of Anthropometry
Objective (from syllabus)
 To understand the relationship between human
body size, shape and composition, and
movement capability
Anthropometry
 Definition:
 Dimensions and composition of the body


E.g. bone thickness & proportions, body fat %, lean
body mass
See also kinanthropometry, which is the same
thing but as applied to movement
 Tools for measurement
 All kinds of rulers, calipers and so on (and for lean
body mass, some regression models to estimate
body fat % based on a variety of assumptions)

Height, body segment
length, bone
diameter, skinfold +
fat width
Stadiometers, anthropometers, bicondylar calipers,
skinfold calipers etc...
Anthropometry
 Body size
 It’s a field for the obsessive in terms of measuring
protocols
dimensionality
 Determination of body shape
 A variety of proportions are measured

Bulk (fatness?)


BMI (mass/ht2)
[(Sitting ht)/)(standing ht)] x 100
Limb length
relative to torso
Certain proportions and shapes have been found
to be associated with health or performance in
certain activities, hence the interest
Consider also
cause and effect
Exceptions are always interesting
though (e.g. Usain Bolt)
Anthropometry
 Tissues composing the body


So, abnormally
fat, thin, or
muscular
people don’t
get such
accurate
estimates
Anthropometry is interested in estimating tissue proportion in the
living
Most popular example is lean body mass & fat – gives the 2component anthropometric model



DEXA (dual x-ray absorpiometry): 3-component model – lean
tissue divided into calcified tissue and other non-fat tissue


The book cites errors even with underwater weighing, which is
normally the gold standard for estimation of body fat %
Should bear in mind that with all estimation techniques, they work
best for typical people
More accurate, but a lot more expensive than a set of calipers
General idea here...as opposed to losing weight, you should
increase lean body mass (yes, increase...or at least not lose it).
Implies increased training to
build muscle mass...which in turn
leads to fat loss
MRI, CAT scans
even better but
even more
expensive
Anthropometry
 Somatotyping

Skinfolds relative
to height
The practice of classifying body types according to
3 dimensions (following the most popular HeathCarter method)
Bone girth relative to arm, leg



girth, with fatness taken out
Endomorphy (fatness)
Mesomorphy (muscularity & bone size)
Ectomorphy (thinness)
 Replete with measurement errors, but still tends to be
quite reliably associated with performance stereotypes
Weight relative
to height
Anthropometry
 Human variation
 Emerges from a variety of causes
 Age and activity are covered in the next chapters
 In the musculoskeletal system
 Nothing very interesting here (and open to
misinterpretation)
“typical” make up of males and
females is an example of this – see
 In physical dimensions
Caster Semenya controversy
 As before, these are open to misinterpretation and
stereotyping
 Features that are more determined by genetics might (??)
be more reasonably analyzed (e.g. jaw line in males
generally larger)
Chapter 4
Musculoskeletal changes across the life span
Objective from syllabus
 To summarize how concepts related to the
musculoskeletal system and anthropometry are
affected by growth and maturation
Auxology and gerontology defined
 Auxology – the science of growth

Is physical age proceeding apace with
chronological age?
 Gerontology – the science of aging

What does aging do to your body & mind?
 Tools for measurement

Similar to anthropometry (after all, it’s still
measurement)
Changes across the lifespan
 Physical growth, maturation, and aging
 Embryological development
 Ovum + spermatozoan  zygote (fertilized cell)
 Zygote repeatedly divides and multiplies
 Mesodermic development follows
 Growth of organs, tissues, musculoskeletal system
Marked by hyperplastic growth (increase in # cells)
The postnatal years
 Keep on growing, keep on maturing (a term implying
genetically determined growth)
 Exercise and aging – see ch. 12


Changes across the lifespan
 Age-related changes in the skeletal and articular systems
 Two main phases
 Foetal (hyperplastic)
 Pubertal (hypertrophic)


Stages in development of bone
 Bone grows initially from cartilage
 Cells calcify and then remodeling proceeds via formation
and erosion of cells to give the final shape
Growth of length and width of bone
 Epiphyseal (growth) plate in which cartilage calcifies causes
bone to lengthen
 Continues until cartilage ceases to calcify

Change in thickness not limited by age (see ch. 5)
Changes across the lifespan
 Age-related changes in the skeletal and articular
systems

Skeletal composition changes across the life span



Childhood: more collagen, thus more flexible bone
(Young) Adulthood: more salt, thus more strength
Old Adulthood: yet more salt, so more brittle, but also
total mass of bone decreases
 Increased porosity, decreased density, increased
hardness, more brittle...not good news...
Changes across the lifespan
 Age-related changes in the skeletal and articular systems

Osteoporosis




Bone failure in relation to bone development, age or activity




In post-menopausal women, linked to estrogen depletion, so that
bone absorption increases relative to it’s growth
To offset this, as bone mass peaks at 16 to 20, health experts
recommend maximizing bone mass by that time
Osteoporosis in males is accelerating (lifestyle changes)
Type of fractures change with age and type of bone
Forearm fractures in childhood
Hip and wrist fractures in elderly women
Effect of various factors on range of motion


Decrease with age (how many can still suck their [own] toes)?
Decrease with arthritis
Changes across the lifespan
 Age-related changes in the
muscular system
 Umm...the more
interesting stuff is in
chapter 5 (hopefully)
 Change in body dimensions
across the life span



The “growth spurt”
(peak height velocity)
see. P. 49
In females early maturers
ended up being no
different to late
maturers in height
In males, late maturers
started off being shorter
and ended up being
significantly taller
Changes across the lifespan
 Age-related changes in the muscular system

Combining size measurements to provide
information about shape
Changes across the lifespan
 Age-related changes in the muscular system

Secular trend in body dimensions
Changes across the lifespan
 Age-related changes in the muscular system

Growth rates of body segments

As expected following fig. 4.5, body parts grow at
different rates
 Limbs grow faster than trunk; legs grow faster than arms

Growth rates of body tissues


Brain size close to adult early on
Reproductive tissue grows rapidly through puberty
Changes across the lifespan
 Age-related changes in
the muscular system

Sexual dimorphism in
growth
 Female growth spurt
two years earlier
than males’
 Females often
taller than males
between 10-13
years

Fatness progresses
differently for males
and females
Changes across the lifespan
 Age-related changes in the muscular system

Somatotype changes during growth, maturation,
and aging

2 pubertal stages in males
 First an increase in ectomorphy at around 11-15 yrs
 Then an increase in mesomorphy between 15-24 yrs
 Methods of determining age

Dentistry, bone growth, menarche and sexual
maturity are the methods, but there’s nothing of
particular interest here. Correct me if I’m wrong
Chapter 5
Musculoskeletal adaptations to training
Objective from syllabus
 To summarize how concepts related to the
musculoskeletal system and anthropometry
adapt to physical activity
Musculoskeletal adaptations to
training
 Effects of physical activity on bone
 Generally, the more activity a bone sustains, the
more it will adapt to be suited to that activity (gets
thicker with prolonged use)
 Effects of activity level on bone




Elite youth athletes and stress fractures – too much
too soon
Loss of bone mass in space
Loss of bone mass at rest (bone needs activity to stay
healthily dense)
Exercise generally increases bone mass (weight
bearing – swimmers vs. others)
Musculoskeletal adaptations to
training
 Effects of physical activity on
bone
 Effects of activity type on
bone

Weight bearing activities
best to add bone
 Swimmers vs. wtlifters
 Takes about 3-4
remodelling cycles to
reach new steady state
for bone tissue quality
 Bone decreases in
quality quicker than it
increases, so activity
should be sustained for
maximum effect

Bone repair and physical
activity

See fig. 5.1 – the
implication is that bone
(& other tissue) needs
time to repair from any
inactivity
Musculoskeletal adaptations to
training
 Effects of physical activity on joint structure and ranges of
motion

Synovial fluid, articular cartilage, and ligaments
 Cartilage
 Short bout of cyclical exercise results in thickening of cartilage
 Thickens as a result of absorbing synovial fluid
 Chronic exercise leads to long-term thickening
 (except where compressive forces are excessive – e.g.
downhill running)
Musculoskeletal adaptations to
training
 Effects of physical activity on joint structure and ranges of
motion

Synovial fluid, articular cartilage, and ligaments
 Synovial fluid
 Short run can increase synovial fluid from about .2-.5ml in the
knee to three times as much
 Becomes less viscous (hence more easily soaked up by cartilage)
 Cartilage soaks it up, so it is probably still the cartilage doing the
protection

Ligament
 Exercise strengthens and stiffens ligaments (increase in both
collagen synthesis & cross linking)
Musculoskeletal adaptations to
training
 Effects of physical activity on joint structure and
ranges of motion

Degenerative joint disease and exercise



Linked with obesity (physical activity?), ageing
Does jogging lead to osteoarthritis (degenerative joint
disease)?
Clinicians apparently say so, but the evidence is weak
 Epidemiological studies imply the relationship exists only
for those with previous ligament damage – so that the
joint moves abnormally over a protracted period of time
Musculoskeletal adaptations to
training
 Effects of physical activity on muscle-tendon units


Muscle size decreases with disuse
Flexibility





A function of the muscle-tendon unit, not the joint capsule or
ligament
Joint laxity is a bad thing (stretched ligaments)
Highly joint and activity specific
Seems to be primarily increased through stretchiness of
connective tissue (some sarcomere adaptation)
Not limited by increased muscularity (being muscle-bound is
not inevitable)
Musculoskeletal adaptations to
training
 Effects of physical activity on muscle-tendon units

Strength training



First 6-8 weeks: neurotrophic stage – improved
coordination leads to rapid increases in strength
Then...hypertrophic stage – muscle fibers increase in
cross-sectional area
Tendon adaptation



Slower to adapt than muscle
Adapts via collagen synthesis
Injuries most common at muscle-tendon junction
Musculoskeletal adaptations to
training
 Effects of physical activity on body size, shape, and
composition
Body composition will alter as a result of exercise, but
ectomorphy might not (and weight might increase)
Role of lifestyle factors in determining physique
 Many differences between athletes’ physique and those of
the “normal” population are simply adaptations to training
Relationship of body sizes and types to sports
 Well, we can see it can’t we?



 Long distance runners are lighter, sprinters more muscular,
gymnasts shorter, and so on...
Results of Lab
Definitely need to take
these with a pinch of
salt. We could all do
with
training/retraining on
skinfold techniques,
and even then there
were some definite
issues with the
equations
"Somatoplots"
Mesomorphy
14
12
Our class average
somatotype
10
8
6
4
2
0
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
-2
0
2
4
6
Compare to p.61
-4
Endomorphy
-6
Ectomorphy