Anthropometry

Anthropometry is the measurement of the size and proportions of the human body. Anthropometric measurements include those of the whole body, such as weight and stature (standing height). Also, anthropometry assesses specific areas of the body, as with circumference measurements around a body part, like the arm or skull. Furthermore, specific body tissues can be estimated through anthropometry. For example, adipose tissue under the skin (subcutaneous fat) can be measured by collecting skinfold measurements, which consist of skin and fat existing above skeletal muscle. In addition, anthropometric data include various ratios and indices of body dimensions. Such calculated measurements can yield information about the relative size or shapes of the whole body or its parts. Anthropometry has a long history within anthropology, and it has been especially important in the biological and medical areas of the discipline.

Among the many possible anthropometric measurements are stature; weight; circumferences of the head, chest, abdomen, arm, forearm, wrist, buttocks, thigh, calf, and ankle; lengths of body segments such as the thigh and calf; breadths across body parts such as the elbow and hip bones; and skinfolds of various sites that may have subcutaneous fat, such as beneath the shoulder blade, next to the navel, at the top of the hip bone, at the back and front of the upper arm, and at the inner and outer sides of the thigh.

Some of the advantages of anthropometric measurements are that they are relatively easy to collect, can be performed with simple equipment, and are obtainable with minimal disruption to those being measured. Moreover, because the equipment needed for data collection is portable, anthropometric measurements can be obtained in a variety of settings, including laboratories, hospitals, private residences, community structures, and outdoor environments. Furthermore, as anthropometric data collection is relatively inexpensive, it is useful for gathering information from large samples of individuals and/or collecting data at repeated intervals. One of the drawbacks of anthropometric measurements is that they are less precise than more expensive, invasive techniques. For example, while the anthropometric measurement of circumference at the navel is an indication of abdominal size, a computed tomography (CT)scan of an individual at the navel can show the exact location and quantity of particular kinds of tissues, such as adipose, muscle, organ, connective, and bone.

Particular techniques have been developed to encourage standardization of anthropometric measurements. Such measurement guidelines help ensure that different data collectors are measuring the same aspects of the body in the same way and at the same reference points. In addition, specific equipment and particular features of equipment are recommended to facilitate accurate measurements. For example, the instrument for measuring weight should be a beam scale with movable weights or an electronic digital scale. The preferred equipment for measuring stature is a stadiometer, or a vertical, marked rod with a movable platform that contacts the head. For circumferences, the tape measure used should be narrow, flexible, and nonstretching, so that measurements are not exaggerated. Lengths and breadths of body parts or between reference points on the body require either an anthropometer, which is a marked rod with a movable, perpendicular attachment, or spreading or sliding calipers, which have movable elements along a marked straightedge.

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