Anthropometry

Anthropometry
• The physical dimensions of human beings,
their anthropometry
• Anthropometry is the study and
measurement of human body dimensions.
 Some Anthropometric Terms
• Height: A straight-line, point-to-point vertical measure
• Breadth: A straight-line, point-to-point horizontal measure
running across the body or segment
• Depth: A straight-line, point-to-point horizontal measure
running fore-aft the body
• Distance: A straight-line, point-to-point measure between
body landmarks
• Circumference: A closed measure following a body
contour, usually not circular
• Curvature: A point-to-point measure following a body
contour, usually neither circular nor closed
But no two people are the same
• Right, hence the use of percentiles
• There is no such thing as the “average
person”
• Percentiles are computed using the
formula below. The z values follow the
one-tailed normal distribution table
• See Percentiles.xls

Percentile  X  zS
 Be careful!
• Anthropometric data is generally normally
distributed, but not always.
• Percentiles are based on the normal distribution,
so before using percentiles ensure that data is
normal.
• “Fun” way: Graph (Histogram) then either
Kolmogorov Smirnov Test, Chi-Square Test
• Other way: Statistica or other Stat packages
• Lazy way: Invoke the Central Limit Theorem (a
last resort)
Sources of Anthropometric Data
• Primary source: Get it yourself! Use an
anthropometer (to be taught to you in lab)

• Secondary source: Data gathered by an

external party, government agency,
military, NIOSH, etc.
 Primary vs. Secondary
• Reliable since it focuses • Quick to obtain compared
on the particular with primary method
population concerned • Usually free
• Time-consuming since • Gathered for general
you need to get the data populations, may differ
yourself from population under
study
• Data gatherers must be • Usually obtained from the
well trained and military
measurement system • Finding Philippine data
must be documented and can be a challenge!
analyzed for validity • Time-dependent data
Now that we have data…so what?!
• Data is used in design guidelines for heights, clearances,
grips, and reaches of workplaces and equipment
• Generally, for heights and reaches, use lower percentiles
(design for extremes)
• Generally for clearances and grips, use lower percentiles
(design for extremes)
• Design for adjustable range
• Design for the average (a last resort)
• But the decision is all based on knowledge of the task
and a bit of common sense
• Data is also used in Biomechanics Models
Data Analysis for Anthropometry
• Comparing anthropometry of two
populations
-design was based on one population, you
want to find out if it is still apt for another
• Correlating anthropometry
– in case of lacking data for design,
established correlations may be used to
predict lacking data