30 Kinanthropometry and ergonomics in India

Urvashi Gupta and Meenal Dhall

Contents:

1. Introduction

2. Kinanthropometry

3. Somatotyping

4. Body composition

5. Role of Kinanthropometry, Body composition and Somatotyping in Sports Performance

6. Ergonomics in product design

Learning Objectives:

To get familiar with the concept of kinanthropometry
To understand the idea of somatotyping
To know about the notion of body composition
To explore the role of kinanthropometry, body composition and somatotyping in sports performance

1. INTRODUCTION

Research has made vital contributions in the field of sports. Spirit of competition is extremely high among the sports persons these days, for which they aim to be consistent in terms of their performance, every time. For this reason the difference between winning and losing is gradually getting narrow down. In order to make the players yield their maximum performance, sport scientists and coaches learn and study every facet related to them. In developed countries, authentic systems and environments have been created for the sports personnel so that they could achieve those targets that appeared to be almost impossible or difficult in the recent past for human body, regarding which they are still making diligent efforts for betterment. Heeding to the diverse physical, emotional and psychological needs of the sports persons, researchers collect data for helping them in increasing their potential in every sport. There are various factors that work simultaneously to determine the sports performance of players. These are:

Physical factors
Physiological factors
Technical factors
Tactical factors
Psychological factors, and
Environmental factors

All of these factors take over from each other depending upon the type of sports that is being played. In addition to the above mentioned factors, training is believed to influence the performance of players. However, it has been found that even after imparting training of similar intensity to the sports persons, the performance level of each of them vary distinctly with respect to each other. Reason behind such observation is difference in body structure and body composition of every athlete. Various physical activities and sports demand different and particular type of body, size and proportion.

2. KINANTHROPOMETRY

Kinanthropometry has gained great importance and popularity over a few years. As a science, Kinanthropometry deals with measuring body and other body parts, in motion or those related to kinetics and kinematics. The term kinanthropometry is an acronym of Greek words ‘Kineein’ meaning to move, ‘Anthropos’ meaning man and ‘Metreein’ meaning to measure. Kinanthropometry is defined as the application of body measurements for studying human size, shape, proportion, composition, maturation and gross functioning for understanding human movement in relation with growth, exercise, performance and nutrition. International Society for the advancement of Kinanthropometry has defined kinanthropometry as “a scientific specialization dealing with the measurement of humans in a variety of morphological perspective, its application to movement and those factors which influence movement including components of body build, body measurements, proportions, composition, shape, maturation, motor abilities and cardio- respiratory capacities, physical activity, including recreational activity as well as highly specialized sports performance”.

Kinanthropometry is of immense importance for individual development so as to achieve high level of performance in a specific sport. Kinanthropometry equips the sportsperson with the technique of assessing various body measurements like weight, height, diameters, circumferences, skinfold thicknesses. Hence, sportspersons are selected on the basis of physical characteristics required for practicing a particular sports technique, skill, strength and endurance. The fact that kinanthropometry gives quantitative interface between human structure and function has made the application of kinanthropometric knowledge gaining tremendous importance and popularity for identifying the potential talents in sports arena for a particular event. Kinanthropometric investigations tend to establish the pre-requisites for athletes in the form of developing their maximum performance. Detailed information about kinanthropometric characteristics of athletes is really very important in modern sports. All kinanthropometric characteristics are genetically determined therefore length and breadth measurements cannot be altered with training. Therefore, it is instrumental for the athletes to possess specific characteristics suited to a particular sport that may render advantage to them during the game. Proper training to such body physique increases the chance of winning in the sports competition also.

In addition to its relationship with physical performance, kinanthropometric status is also important for the sports trainers in guiding young athletes into the sports they are best suited for at the initial years of their careers. Studies conducted on the physical characteristics of human body till recently have suggested that the morphological characteristics of athletes successful in a specific sport differ in somatic characteristics from that of the general population. Every person is unique in terms of his/her physical characteristics. Since no two individuals are alike proves the fact that the extent of human variability is so large. That is why with such great variety of human physique only few sports and games fit more aptly than others with individuals having a specific body physique than the others. Specific physical characteristics – body composition, body size, body type and structure are of great significance for the enhancement of performance in various sports events to a high level.

Kinanthropometry is an effective tool in the hands of sports scientists, human biologists, physical anthropologists, sports coaches and physical educationists for the assessment of athletes in different sport specializations. Apart from its importance in sports physiology, Kinanthropometric measurements are also used to determine body size differences, somatotyping and body composition.

3. SOMATOTYPING

Human physique differs in many ways, and the variety of human physique plays an important role in attaining better performance in particular sports. Every sport demands a specific type of body physique whereas an unsuitable body type in sports may become a great barrier in the progress of sports performance. Realizing the importance of different physiques, in ancient times Hippocrates, a great Greek Philosopher during 5th century B.C. for the first time introduced the method of body classification under which the individuals were divided into two body types as:

‘habitus phthisicus’, having thin and lean body with long extremities, and
‘habitus apoplecticus’, having short, thick and massive body

One of the earliest researchers in this field, Kretschmer, a German psychiatrist, in the beginning of the 12th century classified human beings into three categories as:

asthenic or thin type
athletic or muscular type
pyknic or fatty type

Further, Viola, an Italian, also in the 12th century developed a method to categorize humans into four types as:

Longitype, with long limbs
Brachitype, with broad limbs
Normotype, having limbs within normal range
Mixed type, with mixed characteristics

Sheldon and his associates, in 1940, devised a method for analyzing and to quantify human body type which they referred to as somatotyping, for which they used photoscopic way to identify different physiques. This technique used a 7-scale method for categorizing the subjects as:

Endomorphs, as more with fatty content in them
Mesomorphs, as more with muscle content in them
Ectomorphs, as those who lack both muscle and fat content in them

Later in 1967, Heath and Carter modified this method of Sheldon’s into a more objective method of somatotyping employing anthropometric measurements. According to them “a somatotype is a description of the present morphological conformation. It is expressed in a numeral rating consisting of three sequential numerals always recorded in the same manner. Each numeral represents the evaluation of the three primary components of physique which describe individual variations in human morphology and composition”.

Physique refers to the shape and size of an individual that are closely interrelated with each other and are constantly influenced by the internal structure and tissue components that are, in turn, affected by environmental and genetic factors. Somatotyping is one of the useful indirect techniques of evaluating physique characteristics. Ideal somatotype for sports persons varies according to the demands of sport events. Combined rating of each component determines the somatotype of an individual. In case of one component being dominant then somatotyping describes that. Specific athletic events demand for different body types as well as body weights for maximum performance.

Somatotypic analysis provides an overview of the kinanthropometric characteristics of high level athletes. Somatotyping method is considered to yield better results than simple linear anthropometric measurements. It is so because it combines adiposity, musculo-skeletal robustness and linearity. As a means for assessing body shape and composition, independent of size, somatotyping is applied to the description of groups of outstanding athletes. Somatyping began to be practiced among the Olympic athletes in 1951 by Cureton. Somatotype studies were done by Tanner (1964) at the Rome Olympics, Garay et al. (1974) carried out the largest study on the athletes at the Mexico Olympics and Carter et al. studied athletes at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

4. BODY COMPOSITION

Along with the considerations of body size, constitutional make-up of body is also important. Division of body weight into different components could be conceived by considering the major parts of body-

fat mass
muscle mass
bone mass

Body composition of athletes is an important tool for evaluating their health, for monitoring the effects of training program and to decide upon the optimal competitive body weight and other components of body composition. Understanding the effects of training on body composition can help athletes in controlling weight and adjust their body composition safely. Seasonal variations in body composition can also be studied and used to find the optimal body composition levels for health, recovery, training and competition. Following body composition trends in specific sports, enable coaches to accurately prepare the athletes for specific events or positions. Due to the great significance of body composition in athletic health and performance, it is crucial to ensure a safe, practical and efficient method of computing body composition.

Body fat percentage is specifically of greater interest to athletes while talking about body composition, since it is often negatively associated with athletic performance. Athletes for a specific sport represent a unique body composition. Density of fat free mass alters with changes in proportions of fat free mass components. Greater lean body mass, strength, power, lower body fat percentage and earlier maturation are associated with young, elite male athletes. While on the other hand, young, elite female athletes have lower percentage of body fat, later maturation and a less “curvy” physique. Sports persons and athletes have a different physiology and health consequences associated with their body composition compared to the general non-sports playing group, making body composition is an important field of study in sports physiology. For achieving excellent performance in sports and athletics, physical characteristics and body composition have been known to be instrumental to refine and work upon. Body composition can act as a predictor of athletic performance, making it relevant for both athletes and coaches. Physical performance tends to decline when body weight and body fat percentage is at extreme levels. However, based upon the sport activity, a higher or lower body fat level may be favorable. This is the reason that body composition trends in different sports can help identifying or categorizing potential participants for the event.

Body composition becomes a safety issue in weight-dependant sports, like wrestling. Body fat percentage is an important factor in endurance events because extra fat increases the demand of energy needed for running without giving any extra energy in return. There exists a significant relationship between body fat percentage and running performance. Lean body mass, on the other hand, acts as a better predictor of performance than fat mass in strength events. Excess of body fat has harmful effects on the performance in most of the sports whereas, fat free body mass, specifically muscle mass, and is generally related with highly refined performance.

5. ROLE OF KINANTHROPOMETRY, BODY COMPOSITION AND SOMATOTYPING IN SPORTS PERFORMANCE

Physical education teachers, trainers and coaches and sports scientists are aware of the importance of training, skills, personality, motivation during sports performance but the most important of them all is the understanding of morphology, somatotyping, body composition and kinanthropometric characteristics of the persons in to be trained, reason being these factors give definite predictions of the degree of efficiency and level of success of a sportsperson. Sports performance of athletes is highly regulated by age, stature, weight and body structure. It is also noticed that individuals of same age group vary in body size and shape. Individuals of the same height differ very much in body weight. Persons may weigh the same but then the relative proportion of muscle, fat and bone will be different among them all.

Body composition, kinanthropometric measurements and morphological characteristics play a very important role in deciding the success of a sportsperson. Performance demands in present day sports are continuously increasing. Only those individuals among whom such factors that influence performance are assessable to a great extent can achieve success. Sports performance is described using somatic, functional, physiological and motor characteristics and capabilities. Body physique is a direct reflection of the level of movement and activities. It is natural to have differences in body size, body proportion, height and weight among different sports persons but recent studies have depicted that size, weight, height show remarkable differences on the basis of their position on field.

Morphological optimization is associated with success in different sports. There exists a general relationship between morphology and performance. However, particular morphological requirements are still needed to be established for achieving goals in some sports. Somatotype of an individual is one of the best biological identification tags. Morphological factors does play limiting role in human performance. Size, shape and proportions of an athlete are important considerations in their performance. Better the performance, the more critical this relationship will be. Studies conducted over Olympic players indicated that successful sports performance is often obstructed by lack of appropriate physique.

While studying an individual’s kinanthropometric characteristics, somatotyping and body composition, the physical merits and demerits of that particular sports person in relation to his sport can be assessed and needs to be matched against the requirements of a specific sports event. Skinfold thicknesses and body composition techniques help in estimating the amount of fat present in the body of an athlete and small quantity of fat in athletes generally helps to attain high sports performance. In most of the sports minimum level of fat is required for better performance, while increased level of fat may obstruct the sportsperson from reaching to their full potential.

The strongest association between kinanthropometric features and sports performance is witnessed in weight lifting and among throwers as there is highest relationship between regional muscle mass and strength. Some sports require absolute size while in others relative size of body segments is more important. Body proportionality is also found significantly different in various sports events among both the genders. Female athletes tend to have proportionally smaller musculo-skeletal size in upper body than lower body and also a different limb, torso and skinfold thickness distribution compared to their male counterparts. Size, proportion and skinfold thickness among young athletes are generally consistent with those of older athletes, for same sports.

Physique of an athlete influences the technical and tactical aspect of the game. Training, physical activities, environment and nutrition cannot change the segmental length of the athlete. Efficient execution, suitable change in the technique and tactics in accordance to one’s segmental size and structure may be beneficial at time during the game that may be used tactically by the coaches and sportsmen from time to time. Physical performance components/physical fitness abilities like speed, strength, agility and coordination are also interwoven in the development of body structure. Outstanding development in these fitness abilities actually determines the performance level of the athlete in any sports event.

Skill, psychological features, powerful and capacious energy-production systems are important factors in sports performance but body size, shape, proportion, composition and morphology are the major success-related factors in sports. Studies on athletes have revealed that usually:

sprinters are muscular
marathoners are smaller in size and are leaner
throwers are taller and heavier with higher levels of fat
defensive linemen in football tend to have higher body fat than defensive backs.
in track and field events, sprinters are supposed to have lower body fat than a thrower.
athletes involved in events like swimming, kayaking, having higher body fat and body mass is supported.
athletes in weight bearing, or anaerobic sports like 100m, 200m, 400m running are supposed to have much lower body fat percentage.
in sports requiring body projection such as jumping movements against the gravity, excess fat and body weight hamper sports performance.
in long distance swimming and water polo, moderate level of fat is considered as an asset to performance as it provides additional buoyancy. This is the reason elite swimmers have optimal level of fat in their body.
jumpers have been found to have long legs, short trunk and broader feet because height and long legs help them to have their center of gravity at a higher level which help them in crossing greater height.
power to weight ratio is significant for jumpers, therefore maximizing muscle mass and maintaining low body fat level is desirable.
throwers have greater body weight because when an object is thrown forward and upward, an equal and opposite force is exerted on the thrower which disturbs his/her body balance. As a result the effect of this reaction will be more if the athlete does not have higher body weight. Further to make the flight of the throwing object longer in air, greater height is also advantageous for such athletes.
height gives an edge to basketball and volleyball players helping them to excel as it is an advantageous factor for these players.
short body physique/frame helps the athletes to excel in the field of gymnastics, weight lifting, light-weight class in boxing.
shorter height is more favorable for gymnasts. That is why China, Korea and Japan have produced more sportspersons in the field of gymnastics.
bulky musculature helps the sports persons to bring laurels in the fields of throwing events and heavy weight class in boxing.
Europeans have greater height therefore they have proved their sports acumen in volleyball, basketball, swimming, long jump, shotput.

A tough competition is going on not only among the sports persons but also between the sports scientists, coaches and sports researchers. They all are striving for better principles for body conditioning so as to generate new theories in the field of sports.

6. ERGONOMICS IN PRODUCT DESIGN

Ergonomics is derived from two Greek words: ‘ergo which means work’ and ‘nomos which means laws’. It is therefore a branch of science that focuses on the study of human fit, and decreased fatigue and discomfort through product design in the work environment. Ergonomics applied to office furniture design, cockpit design, designing of uniform for army personnel, etc. require that we take into consideration how the products we design fit the people that are using them. At work, at school, or at home, when products fit the user, the result can be with more comfort, higher productivity, less stress, hence quality of life (QOL) gets enhanced. Ergonomics is always concerned with human factors and are also known as comfort or functional design.

Ergonomics can be an integral part of design, manufacturing, and use. Knowing how the study of anthropometry, posture, repetitive motion, and workspace design affects the user is critical to a better understanding of ergonomics as they relate to end-user needs. In this types of designing various anthropometric measurements are used as people come in different sizes and shapes. Bharadwaj et al. (1986) in their study among the Indian army personnel using anthropometric data for sizing of trousers and shirts used waist girth, side seam length, back and front rise, seat girth, inside leg length, knee girth and bottom girth for sizing of trousers; collar, yoke length, sleeve length, chest girth, waist girth, front length, bank length and mod yoke to cuff for designing of shirt.

Summary

In order to make the players yield their maximum performance, sport scientists and coaches learn and study every facet related to them. Research has made vital contributions in the field of sports. Heeding to the diverse physical, emotional and psychological needs of the sports persons, researchers collect data for helping them in increasing their potential in every sport. Various factors work simultaneously to determine the sports performance of players. Kinanthropometry is of immense importance for individual development so as to achieve high level of performance in a specific sport. It equips the sportsperson with the technique of assessing various body measurements like weight, height, diameters, circumferences, skinfold thicknesses. Hence, sportspersons are selected on the basis of physical characteristics required for practicing a particular sports technique, skill,strength and endurance. The fact that kinanthropometry gives quantitative interface between human structure and function has made the application of kinanthropometric knowledge gaining tremendous importance and popularity for identifying the potential talents in sports arena for a particular event.

Somatotyping is another useful indirect techniques of evaluating physique characteristics. Ideal somatotype for sports persons varies according to the demands of sport events. Combined rating of each component determines the somatotype of an individual. In case of one component being dominant then somatotyping describes that. Specific athletic events demand for different body types as well as body weights for maximum performance. Somatotypic analysis provides an overview of the kinanthropometric characteristics of high level athletes. Somatotyping method is considered to yield better results than simple linear anthropometric measurements. It is so because it combines adiposity, musculo-skeletal robustness and linearity. As a means for assessing body shape and composition, independent of size, somatotyping is applied to the description of groups of outstanding athletes.

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