Anthropometric Sizing
INTRODUCTION
Anthropometry is the study of the shape and size of the human body.
As roebuck defines it – “the science of measurement and the art of application that establishes the physical geometry, mass properties and strength capabilities of the human body.”
The name derives from anthropos meaning human and metrikos meaning of or pertaining to measuring.
According to Pheasant(1996) anthropometry’s historical antecedents date back to Renaissance.
He cites works such as Albert Durer’s (1471-1525) Four books of Human Proportions, which depict the diversity of humans through illustrations and classic drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci.
However the field is generally described as having originated from physical anthropology, a discipline that emerged during the 19th century and among other things focuses on physical differences between people of different ethnic groups.
To perform such comparison, it was necessary to develop a set of tools –
1) Measurement techniques to obtain data from individuals,
2) Statistical methods for transforming data from individuals into summary data that capture the properties of groups.
Today, anthropometry plays an important role in industrial design, clothing design, ergonomics and architecture where statistical data about the distribution of body dimensions in the population are used to optimize products. Changes in life styles, nutrition and ethnic composition of populations lead to changes in the distribution of body dimensions (e.g., the obesity epidemic), and require regular updating of anthropometric data collections.
Bertillon, Galton, and criminology
The savant Alphonse Bertillon gave his name in 1883 to a system of identification depending on the unchanging character of certain measurements of parts of the human frame. He found by patient inquiry that several measures of physical features, along with dimensions of certain bones or bony structures in the body remain fairly constant throughout adult life.
He concluded
Anthropometry is the study of the shape and size of the human body.
As roebuck defines it – “the science of measurement and the art of application that establishes the physical geometry, mass properties and strength capabilities of the human body.”
The name derives from anthropos meaning human and metrikos meaning of or pertaining to measuring.
According to Pheasant(1996) anthropometry’s historical antecedents date back to Renaissance.
He cites works such as Albert Durer’s (1471-1525) Four books of Human Proportions, which depict the diversity of humans through illustrations and classic drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci.
However the field is generally described as having originated from physical anthropology, a discipline that emerged during the 19th century and among other things focuses on physical differences between people of different ethnic groups.
To perform such comparison, it was necessary to develop a set of tools –
1) Measurement techniques to obtain data from individuals,
2) Statistical methods for transforming data from individuals into summary data that capture the properties of groups.
Today, anthropometry plays an important role in industrial design, clothing design, ergonomics and architecture where statistical data about the distribution of body dimensions in the population are used to optimize products. Changes in life styles, nutrition and ethnic composition of populations lead to changes in the distribution of body dimensions (e.g., the obesity epidemic), and require regular updating of anthropometric data collections.
Bertillon, Galton, and criminology
The savant Alphonse Bertillon gave his name in 1883 to a system of identification depending on the unchanging character of certain measurements of parts of the human frame. He found by patient inquiry that several measures of physical features, along with dimensions of certain bones or bony structures in the body remain fairly constant throughout adult life.
He concluded