Bodily Measurements Research Articles

Physique and body composition in Southern Africa

The somatotypes of 333 adult males of the Bantu-speaking Tonga chiefdom of Zambia have been determined. Fifty-eight somatotypes were represented in the sample, but 70% of the men showed the commonest 17 somatotypes. On the average, the endomorphic component is low, the mesomorphic and ectomorphic components high. The average somatotype is 212:4:312, and the modal somatotypes 253, 343, 352, 244, in that order of frequency. These results compare well with those obtained on East Africans. The low endomorphic component is supported by low mean skinfold thicknesses of the Tonga and of several other series of Southern African Negroes. These results confirm that S.A. Negroes incline to muscularity and linearity, and that their body covering of fat is sparse, at least in males. In a variety of bodily measurements, including skinfold thicknesses, the mean data for S.A. Negro males fall short of those for white males. However, data for S.A. Negro females show fewer differences from whites, only the stature and other linear measurements falling short in the 17–25 years age-group. This male-female discrepancy may point to a greater sensitivity of males and resistance of females to adverse environmental circumstances.

Morphologic Constitution and Smoking

<h3>To the Editor:</h3> —I read the article by C. C. Seltzer (<i>JAMA</i><b>183</b>:639 [Feb 23] 1963) with interest, and if not for his aftersection entitled, "Some Speculations," would have passed it without comment. I will not dwell on the "statistically significant" differences between smokers and nonsmokers which make much of a difference in weight of 5 lb and a difference in height of 1 cm. I will simply call to the reader's attention the fact that he reports these anthropological measurements in four significant figures, ie, measurements not only fine enough to detect a recent bowel movement or a relaxed postural stance but almost fine enough to detect a recent belch or an overdue haircut. I will simply emphasize that the greatest differences reported in bodily measurement exist between nonsmokers and cigar smokers; the least differences exist between nonsmokers and cigarette smokers. This relationship of differences is opposite to

Variances of bodily measurements in the offspring of natives of and immigrants to three Peruvian towns.

American Journal of Physical AnthropologyVolume 18, Issue 4 p. 257-261 Article Variances of bodily measurements in the offspring of natives of and immigrants to three Peruvian towns Gabriel W. Lasker, Gabriel W. Lasker Department of Anatomy, Wayne State University College of Medicine, Detroit, MichiganSearch for more papers by this author Gabriel W. Lasker, Gabriel W. Lasker Department of Anatomy, Wayne State University College of Medicine, Detroit, MichiganSearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1960 https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330180403Citations: 2AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume18, Issue4December 1960Pages 257-261 RelatedInformation

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and JB 318: a comparison of two hallucinogens. II. An exploratory study.

Introduction The first article in this series contained a description of the purposes and methodology of the study. 1 The aims of the research as stated therein were twofold: (1) to define the effects of both drugs in terms of psychometric tests, and (2) to compare the new hallucinogen, JB 318 (N-ethyl-3-piperidyl benzilate) with LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), a drug that has become a sort of standard of reference in the area. Ten carefully screened medical student volunteers participated in the double-blind, counterbalanced design experiment. They ingested 100μg. of LSD on one occasion and 15 mg. of JB 318 on the other. The interval between drug experiments was five to eight weeks. Psychiatric interviews, tape recorded and rated, and bodily measurements were carried out before and at predetermined intervals after the administration of each drug. 1 The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Rorschach test, Jarvik

The relation of body build to the excretion of 17-ketosteroids and 17-ketogenic steroids in healthy young men.

SUMMARY 1. The 24 hr excretions of 17-ketosteroids (17-KS), 17-ketogenic steroids (17-KGS) and creatinine of 101 healthy young men have been measured on two occasions several weeks apart to determine what, if any, relationship these bore to the subjects' body build. 2. Body build was assessed by anthropometric measurements, somatotyping, and a new method detailing the limb widths of fat, muscle and bone. 3. The week-to-week personal constancy coefficient of each of these excretions has been calculated. It is highest for 17-KS (0·83), and slightly lower for 17-KGS (0·73) and creatinine (0·72). 4. Correlations have been calculated both for between-persons relationships ('stable' or 'habitual'individuals' values) and within-persons relationships (daily individual co-fluctuations). The stable values of 17-KS and 17-KGS excretions are inversely related, individuals habitually high in one being habitually low in the other. This relationship becomes more marked when allowances are made for surface area and urine volume differences. 5. Excretion of 17-KS is significantly related to body weight and to mesomorphy. The multiple correlation with muscle width and weight was 0·56. 6. Excretion of 17-KGS is significantly related to weight and height. This is due to a positive relation with width and length of the limb bones (multiple correlation 0·55). There is no relation with muscle mass or subcutaneous fat thickness. 7. On the basis of these findings speculations are made on the possible role of 17-KS in maintaining muscle bulk and of corticosteroids in maintaining the contents of the medulla of the limb bones. 8. There is a significant, though quantitatively small, correlation between general body hirsutism, muscle bulk and 17-KS output. There is a similar-sized but inverse relation between penis size and amount of subcutaneous fat. 9. Recent findings on the relation of physique to resistance to tuberculosis are discussed in the light of the above findings. These point to the conclusion that more bodily measurements than simple weight and height must be taken if useful information as to causes of the physique-disease relationship is to be obtained.

Comparison of certain tests of physical fitness and certain bodily measurements.

Data were secured from 50 male university students relative to certain simple tests of physical fitness and certain anthropometric measurements. It was observed that: a) neither vital capacity divided by body surface area nor flarimeter endurance was significantly correlated with any other test. b) Harvard Step-Test scores were significantly correlated with weight, height and pre-exercise pulse rate (.01 level) and the Tuttle Pulse-Ratio and leg length (.05 level). c) the only significant correlation for the Tuttle Pulse-Ratio was with the Harvard Step-Test. The possibility is considered that the relatively low correlation found between the Harvard Step-Test and Tuttle Pulse-Ratio Test may be due, in part, to differing relations of the two tests to pre-exercise pulse rate. The question is raised as to whether the scoring methods of either test are appropriate to actual pre-exercise pulse rate vs. postexercise pulse rate relationships. Submitted on March 14, 1957

Age changes in some bodily dimensions of Apes

Summary. Basic statistical data are given for four overall bodily measurements and two derived indices of seventy‐three wild chimpanzees and eighty‐eight gorillas of all ages. Sexual differences are established shortly after the first permanent molars have erupted. Each measurement increases rapidly as the remaining permanent teeth erupt and some growth continues after the third permanent molars are in place. The overall shape of the ape's body and limbs remains practically constant as the permanent teeth erupt, and there is little evidence that growth in these parts follows an allometric pattern. The growth relationship between the face and cranium is, however, strongly allometric.

CLINICAL RADIOSCOPIC STUDIES OF THE HEART IN CHILDREN

The markedly enlarged heart is easily recognized by physical and roentgenographic examination. The differentiation between the normal and the moderately enlarged heart in a child presents a diagnostic problem of clinical importance. The usual roentgenologic criteria offer little assistance in determining the most important single criterion of early organic heart disease, namely, enlargement of the heart. This investigation was undertaken to evaluate certain roentgenologic criteria of cardiac size in children. In addition, an effort was made to define, if possible, criteria to detect slight or early cardiac abnormality by a roentgenologic method which would be simple, rapid, reasonably accurate and available for clinical use. METHOD Of the roentgenologic methods in general use the first is estimation of the size of the heart by mensuration of the frontal plane as projected by teleoroentgenography, 1 teleoradioscopy 2 and orthodiagraphy. 3 The measurements of these cardiograms are related to certain bodily measurements; and

The Skin Game

We occasionally read of a keenly sensitive bloodhound tracking a criminal to his hiding place after partaking of a whiff from some garment that had been in intimate contact with the fugitive's body; the dog had no actual acquaintance with the human being he was following, and the person was found merely through the trail he had left behind him, marked by the odorous exhalations from his body, which clung to such solid substances as the person came in contact with; the dog passed by all other people and their several odors, wholly ignoring everyone except the particular individual he was seeking-and later found. Almost any dog, at'some time or other, may have been seen wandering around where people were congregated, sniffing first at one person and then at another, and going on until he smelled the friendly acquaintance whom he sought and who was at once recognized by his proper odor. Both dogs availed themselves of the sign-physical, represented by the odor of the secretions and exhalations of a certain particular human body, which were distinguishable by the dogs from similar signs of all other human bodies; they had learned that every person within their experiences had his own particular natural body scent, thus becoming aware of a fact that in all probability is of universal application. Human beings, however, are not at present endowed with so sharp a sense of smell as the lower animals, and therefore must depend on other means of identifying one another, such as the voice, the movements, and the physical form and appearance. In the absence of the individual, recognition is gained (1) through observation of the character of work done by the physical machinery of the absent one, such as his handwriting in penmanship, his style of brush work in a painting, his manner of cutting in an engraving, or (2) through observation of mere records of certain parts of his physical body, such as his bodily measurements, foot prints, finger prints, etc. The first form of absent recognition is therefore based on the active operations of the human physical machine, while the second rests on a mere passive record of certain parts of that machine. It is with a branch of the passive form that we are now particularly concerned.