Sex, age and caste differences in somatotypes of Rajput and scheduled caste adolescents from the Sirmour District of Himachal Pradesh, India

Somatotypes of a cross-sectional sample of 544 rural adolescents ranging in age from 11 to 17 years are described. The sample included 269 Rajput (141 girls and 128 boys) and 275 Scheduled Caste (135 girls and 140 boys) subjects. Each subject was somatotyped using the Heath-Carter anthropometric somatotype protocol (Carter & Heath 1990). In all, ten anthropometric measurements namely height, weight, bicondylar diameters of humerus and femur, flexed mid-upper-arm and calf circumferences, and triceps, subscapular, supraspinale and calf skinfolds were taken. The mean somatotypes of the Rajput boys and girls were 1.62- 3.30-3.85 (mesomorphic-ectomorph) and 2.42-2.90-3.99 (balanced ectomorph), respectively. The mean somatotypes of the Scheduled Caste subjects were 1.51-3.02-3.74 (mesomorphic-ectomorph) for boys and 2.38-2.64-3.70 (balanced ectomorph) for girls. A one-way ANOVA revealed that females of both the caste groups were significantly (p < or = 0.05) more endomorphic than the males. The sex differences in other two components were not significant (p +/- 0.05). Caste differences, as revealed by a one-way ANOVA analysis, were not significant (p +/- 0.05) in both sexes. With the exception of the Rajput girls, the differences in whole somatotypes between those in an early phase of adolescence and those in an advanced phase of adolescence were not significant (p = 0.05). The results indicate that populations exposed to same environmental situations for a long period of time tend to show similarity in physique. A one-way MANOVA analysis, which used Wilk's Lambda as test statistics, revealed that from 11-17 years there was no significant change (p < or = 0.05) in component dominance of mean somatotypes in the boys and girls of the present sample. Among males of a majority of the Indian populations, ectomorphy dominates over endomorphy and mesomorphy from 11 to 17 years.     

Effect of physical training on body composition in Moscow adolescents

The influence of physical activity on body mass components has been studied using a sample of Moscow children. 195 girls and 259 boys of Russian ethnicity from 12 to 17 years old were investigated cross-sectionally in 2005 in different Moscow schools. According to the level of physical activity they were divided into three groups: 1-those who did not take part in regular physical exercise (44 boys and 50 girls); 2-those who took part in special sports programs in general education schools (82 boys and 82 girls); 3-students of special sports schools with a high sports ranking (133 boys and 63 girls). The program included anthropometric measurements, evaluation of sexual maturation indices, somatotypes, and "functional" traits (diastolic and systolic blood pressure, pulse rate, hand grip, etc). For the study of body composition, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was used. The estimates of body mass components were also calculated using the anthropometric measurements. For the fat component, the estimates obtained by BIA and the anthropometric methods were highly correlated: r=0.85-0.88. Age changes of BIA measurements and body components were analysed. With multiple regression analysis it was shown that BIA measurements are dependent on a great number of morphological and functional traits, with the most informative sets of traits being selected. The degree of physical activity has a strong effect on body components: the contents of fat-free mass (FFM) and total body water (TBW) significantly increase, and the fat mass (FM) in girls decreases.     

Age dynamics of sex differences according to integral indices of habitus in 7 to 17-year-old children

Using analysis of major components with varimax-rotation, factor analysis of 26 anthropometric parameters has been performed in 1,100 children of both sex at the age of 7-17 years. Three orthogonal components are distinguished, embracing 76.6% of total variance. The first factor--the component of general size; the second and the third factors characterize variability connected with differentional processes. After calculation of individual values of the factors, the main statistical parameters of the body integral indices are defined for all age-sex groups. Convergence of the component values of the total size is observed, when comparing cohorts of boys and girls at the conclusive stages of ontogenesis studied. As for the two other integral parameters, the boys differ from the girls nearly in all age groups; the second factor demonstrates more differences in younger, and the third factor--in older age.     

Anthropometric profile of rural school-children of Byelorussian Polesye

5500 Byelorussian (Polesye) boys and girls between 7 and 17 years of age have been investigated for 30 anthropometric variables. Morphograms plotted on the basis of the results of this study can be used to assess the anthropometric profile of the school-children of Polesye.     

Body build classification for ordinary schoolgirls (aged 7-18 years) and volleyball girls (aged 13-16 years)

The article describes two Estonian anthropometric cross-sectional studies of 1549 ordinary schoolgirls (aged 7-18) and 46 girls, who regularly practised volleyball (aged 13-16). Data are presented on 22 basic anthropometric measurements and 6 body composition characteristics (body mass index, mean skinfold, body density, relative mass of fat by Siri, absolute mass and relative mass of subcutaneous adipose tissue). All anthropometric variables were classified into five height-weight SD classes. Schoolgirls were divided into six age groups (7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18). Volleyballers were observed as one group as their age in SD classes did not differ significantly. The classification consisted of five categories: three height-weight concordant categories: I--small (small height, small weight), II--medium (medium height, medium weight), III large--(big height, big weight) and two height/weight discordant categories: IV--so-called pyknomorphs, V--so-called leptomorphs. To assess the differences between classes the Scheffé-test was used (alpha = 0.05). It proved likewise possible to comparatively systematize length, breadth and depth measurements, circumferences and body composition characteristics in all six age groups (7-18 years) of ordinary schoolgirls and in 13-16-year-old volleyballers as in their case the average age did not differ significantly between the classes.     

Multivariate approach to the analysis of the growth processes in the peripuberty period of human ontogeny

Factor analysis by principal components with the Warimax rotation has been conducted on 26 anthropometric traits of 2200 children aged 6.75 to 17.25. Mean values of traits have been calculated at half-year intervals within each sex. Two orthogonal components accounting 96.5% of the total variation have been chosen. Individual factor values have been analysed to determine their relationship with age. The classification of objects is constructed by the cluster analysis in the space of factors. Four different morphological types within each sex have been found. The age limits between the revealed clusters differ for both sexes.     

Growth and development of adolescent girls from the Segou Region of Mali (West Africa)

In Mali, adolescent girls face many physical stresses which, with a history of poor nutrition, can result in delayed growth and development. Despite the fact that adolescent girls encounter nutritional demands, most research in Mali has focused only on young children. This study examines anthropometric and reproductive data on 1,056 adolescent girls (aged 10-17 years) from the Segou Region of Mali. When compared to the reference population, the Malian girls exhibited poorer indicators of growth and development. Z-scores for height-for-age and weight-for-age were below 0 at all ages. Urban girls had better indicators of growth than rural girls. The body composition data show that the Malian girls have lower body fat than reference girls. Menarche was delayed by about 1.5 years compared to girls from the United States and Europe. Delayed growth and development may be due to many factors, including a history of undernutrition, poor socioeconomic status, and increased energy demands.     

The joint variability of the growth-weight characteristics and biochemical gene markers in newborn infants

A relationship between heterozygosity of 6 biochemical loci and variability of 4 anthropometric traits at birth has been studied in 304 boys and girls from Moscow population. All 4 traits in boys are positively correlated with the number of loci for which they are heterozygous. The values of all the traits in girls are highest in homozygous individuals. In order to reduce the number of variables the principal component analysis is applied. Boys and girls with average level of heterozygosity turned out to be closest to the corresponding population averages of morphological traits. The results are discussed in terms of 3 models: Lerner's concept of genetical homeostasis, additive and overdominance polygenic models. It is concluded that an average level of heterozygosity is optimal for a population.     

Biological affinities between the migrant groups of fishermen of Puri Coast, Orissa, India

Biological affinities between the three endogamous groups of marine fishermen of Puri are examined with the help of nine anthropometric measurements and 22 dermatoglyphic traits of fingers and palms. The results are interpreted in the light of their ethnic, geographical, and migrational backgrounds. Multiple discriminant analysis and Mahalanobis's generalized distances suggest higher discrimination of populations with reference to anthropometric traits as compared to that in dermatoglyphic variables. While the nature of interpopulation distances conforms to the geographic pattern in anthropometrics, no clear picture emerges in the dermatoglyphic distances supporting either ethnic or geographic evidence.     

武陵山区苗族儿童少年体质发育

为了探讨武陵山区苗族儿童少年体质发育特征及其规律。本文采用人体测量学的方法 , 对武陵山区苗族儿童少年17项体质发育指标进行测量, 计算11项体质指数。结果表明: 1)苗族儿童少年生长发育的各项指标均值随年龄的增长而增加; 2)苗族男女性的生长发育曲线呈上升趋势并且有交叉现象; 3)苗族男性的身高突增年龄为12-14岁, 女性则为11-13岁; 4)苗族学生的身高均值低于同龄其他民族学生; 5)苗族学生的体质指数年龄变化规律与其他民族基本相似, 但身体各部分的发育程度不相同; 6)苗族学生的维尔维克指数均值高于同龄马山壮族学生。研究显示苗族儿童少年体质发育符合一般生长发育规律, 并有性别差异, 苗族男女生的体质发育相对落后于汉族等其他民族。     

四十年来中国人活体测量研究的历程

自1980年开始,在吴汝康、吴新智、席焕久的持续推动下,中国人体测量学得到了长足发展。四十年来,中国体质人类学工作者对中国各地民族的体质表型做了大量的活体测量工作。目前取得的成果为中国人体数据库的建设奠定了基础,其中在头面部特征、体部特征、体质类型、体型、肥胖、体成分等研究方向都取得了较为丰硕的研究成果。今后,中国人体测量学工作者须继续开展中国人的活体测量工作,利用体质大数据对活体测量学各个领域开展更加综合的研究,同时初步建成中国人体数据库,使中国人体质数据在医疗卫生、国民经济各个部门发挥应有的作用。     

Short and plump physique of Mexican-American children

Mexican-American children are shorter but relatively heavier than non-Hispanic whites and blacks. The objectives of this paper are to assess the extent to which this "short and plump" physique occurs in data collected in two national surveys (HANES I and II); to determine variations by age, sex, and socioeconomic status; and to investigate the anthropometric characteristics that may account for the overweight. Three groups, defined on the basis of reported ancestry and observed race, are studied: Mexican-Americans (MEXAME), non-Hispanic Whites, (EURAME), and blacks (BLACK). Short stature was clearly associated with the poverty index (PI) in all three groups. MEXAMEs with a PI greater than 1.6 were similar in stature to EURAMEs at the same income level at ages 1-11 years but not at 12-17 years. On the other hand, MEXAMEs were shorter than BLACKs at all ages and income levels. The body mass index (kg/cm2) and poverty were unrelated. With respect to the anthropometric characteristics examined that are related to the body mass index, MEXAMEs and EURAMEs were similar in sitting height as a proportion of total height, arm muscle and fat areas, and triceps skinfold but different in the following ways: MEXAMEs had narrower elbow but broader bitrochanteric breadths and larger chest circumferences and subscapular skinfolds. Greater upper body dimensions and fatfolds seem to best describe the physique of MEXAMEs. However, in multiple regressions, these anthropometric characteristics failed to account fully for the greater relative weight of MEXAMEs as compared to EURAMEs.     

Body build classes as a method for systematization of age-related anthropometric changes in girls aged 7-8 and 17-18 years

A total of 462 schoolgirls aged 7-8 and 17-18 years were examined anthropometrically (45 body measurements and 10 skinfolds) in a cross-sectional study. The data were processed in two age groups: 7-8-year-olds (n = 205) and 17-18-year-olds (n = 257). Relying on average height and weight in the groups, both groups were divided into five body build classes: small, medium, large, pyknomorphous and leptomorphous. In these classes, the differences in all other body measurements were compared, and in both age groups, analogous systematic differences were found in length, width and depth measurements and circumferences. This enabled us to compare proportional changes in body measurements during ten years, using for this ratios of averages of basic measurements and measurement groups in the same body build classes. Statistical analysis by the sign test revealed statistically significant differences between various body build classes in the growth of averages. Girls belonging to the small class differed from the girls of the large class by an essentially greater increase in their measurements. Our results suggest that the growth rate of body measurements of girls with different body build can be studied by the help of body build classification.     

The interpretation of morphometric data of 10- to 13-year-old school children from the survey year 1978 of the Braunschweig Longitudinal Study]

The paper represents a cross-sectional study from a sample of 1800 out of 3000 school-children from the Braunschweiger L?ngsschnitt. In this methodical approach we first eliminate approximately the influence of age and stature on the raw data from all body measurements with regression equations. The transformed data were attached to three "types" named 'below normal', 'normal', and 'above normal', in course of which 'normal' means all cases in the range of the standard deviation, whereas the two other "types" are corresponding to the adjacent ranges of values. Subsequently each transformation on the mean of age and stature a discriminant analysis has been performed grouping the cases by the "types" of the width of pelvis, resp. shoulders. There were found great influences of the stature on the chosen measures of width in our investigated class of age. They could be made clear alone by using allometrical methods. Only before correction of the body height the given grouping is supported by other variables, at which different sets of variables dominate the discriminant functions for boys and girls. Out of this new aspects and considerations result for the understanding of the physique and the physique typologies, which would be significant in our opinion for acceleration phenomenon as well as for the comparative examinations on populations.     

Common genetic and environmental factors among craniofacial traits in Belgian nuclear families: Comparing skeletal and soft-tissue related phenotypes

The major objective of this study was to determine the possible effects of common genetic and environmental factors among 18 craniofacial anthropometric traits, with special attention to the differences between skeletal and soft-tissue related phenotypes. The studied sample consisted of 122 nuclear families living in Brussels and included 251 males and 258 females aged from 13 to 72 years. Univariate and bivariate quantitative genetic analyses were performed using a variance components procedure implemented in SOLAR software.All phenotypes were significantly influenced by additive genetic factors with heritability estimates ranging from 0.46 (nose height) to 0.72 (external biocular breadth). Sex, age and their interactions explained 7-46% of the total phenotypic variance of the traits. Bivariate analysis revealed that several traits share a common genetic and/or environmental basis while other traits show genetic and environmental independence from one another. More and greater genetic and environmental correlations were observed among skeletal phenotypes, than among soft-tissue traits and between both categories. Apart from the tissue composition, other characteristics of the craniofacial morphology such as the orientation (e.g. heights, breadths) have shown to be important factors in determining pleiotropy and common environmental effects between some pairs of traits. In conclusion, the results confirm that overall head configuration is largely determined by additive genetic effects, and that common genetic and environmental factors affecting craniofacial size and shape are stronger for the skeletal traits than for the soft-tissue traits.     

月经初潮对女孩体格发育和体型分布的影响

目的：分析初潮对女孩体格发育和体型分布的影响。方法：询问初潮发生时间。根据初潮发生状况分组,比较各组的体格发育状况,并作Heath-Carter体型分析。结果：同年龄已来潮女孩无论骨骼、肌肉、体脂、身高等都明显较未来潮女孩提前,年龄越小越明显。月经初潮后1年内,体格发育的增长趋势仍很明显,由此造成已、未来潮,刚来潮和来潮时间较久的女孩间,在体型分布上的显著差异。结论：初潮发生早晚对女孩体型有明显影响,其中受影响最大的是反映体脂累积的内因子。本研究无论对体质人类学研究或是在专门人才的早期选拔方面,都将提供一定的科学依据。     

The relative contributions of anthropometric variables to vertical jumping ability and leg power in Tunisian children

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative contributions of anthropometric variables to vertical jumping ability and leg power and to establish reference values of vertical jumping parameters in athletic Tunisian children aged 7-13 years in both sexes. Three hundred and ninety-one athletic Tunisian children (208 boys and 183 girls) aged 7-13 years were randomly selected to participate in our study. They were asked to perform squat jumps and countermovement jumps. Jump heights and leg power were simultaneously provided by the optojump device. Full and stepwise regression models were calculated to identify which anthropometric parameters significantly contributed to performance variables. The multiple regressions showed that age, weight, standing height and fat-free mass were the predictors of jumping performance. The results may help in verifying the effectiveness of a specific training program and detecting highly talented athletes.     

Size and shape modifications in Sardinian adolescent girls

In females, menarche is the defining moment of puberty, the period of life when the greatest body changes occur. In the present study, the metric and morphological variations associated with sexual maturation are defined in 155 Sardinian girls (10-17 years) and the role of some potentially influential variables is discussed: age, age at menarche and time since menarche. We studied thirty-eight anthropometric variables, the fat-free mass and the fat mass estimated by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the difference between pre- and post-menarcheal girls of the same age (Student's t-test) and to evaluate the different role played by the variables (principal components analysis, cluster analysis, multiple regression). The results demonstrate that the body dimensions of the adolescent girls mainly increase in concomitance with sexual maturation. The age at menarche influences the fat mass but not the distribution of visceral and subcutaneous fat. The time since menarche has also no effect on the distribution of subcutaneous fat.     

A Comparison between BMI,Waist Circumference,and Waist-To-Height Ratio for Identifying Cardio-Metabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents

Background

There is controversial evidence on the associations between anthropometric measures with clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors in pediatric ages. We aimed to examine the associations between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) with clustered cardiometabolic risk factors and to determine whether these anthropometric variables can be used to discriminate individuals with increased cardiometabolic risk (increased clustered triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and HOMA-IR).

Methods

The study sample of 4255 (2191 girls and 2064 boys) participants (8–17 years) was derived from pooled cross-sectional data comprising five studies. Outcomes included a continuous cardiometabolic risk factor z-score [corresponding to the sum of z-scores for triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (mean arterial pressure), and HOMA-IR] and children with ≥1.0 SD in this score were defined as being at risk for clustering cardiometabolic risk factors.. Exposure variables were BMI, WC, WHtR. Statistics included mixed-effect regression and ROC analysis.

Results

All anthropometric variables were associated with clustered risk and the magnitudes of associations were similar for BMI, WC, and WHtR. Models including anthropometric variables were similar in discriminating children and adolescents at increased risk with areas under the ROC curve between 0.70 and 0.74. The sensitivity (boys: 80.5–86.4%; girls: 76.6–82.3%) was markedly higher than specificity (boys: 51.85–59.4%; girls: 60.8%).

Conclusions

The magnitude of associations for BMI, WC, and WHtR are similar in relation to clustered cardiometabolic risk factors, and perform better at higher levels of BMI. However, the precision of these anthropometric variables to classify increased risk is low.