Kinanthropometry is the interaction of human form and function. It was in 1984 that Olympic Scientific Congress first acknowledged kinanthropometry as a scientific discipline, although Bill Ross in 1972 was first to use the term kinanthropologie. The Middle and late 1990s witnessed the discipline made its presence and advanced.
Defining Kinanthropometry
According to Ross et al. (1972) “K is a scientific discipline that studies the body size, the proportionality, the performance of movement, the body composition and principal functions of the body”. Again, Ross et al. (1978) defined kinanthropometry as the application of body measurements to the study of human size, shape, proportion, composition, maturation and gross functions so as to help to understand human movement in relation to growth, exercise, performance and nutrition.
Kinanthropometry is the science that deals with the measurement of weight, size and proportion of human body (Kamlesh, 1998).
For Betancourt (2009), kinanthropometry is a scientific discipline of biomechanics that can be defined as the set of theoretical assumptions that explain the relationships between the morpho-functional structure of healthy individuals and their biological potentiality of performing an efficient motion in an ontogenic moment.
Stewart (2010) defined kinanthropometry as “The academic discipline that involves the use of anthropometric measures in relation to other scientific parameters and /or thematic areas such as human movement, physiology or applied health sciences”
Kinanthropometry is the area of science concerned with the measurement of human body composition. As a result of changes in life styles, nutrition, activity levels and ethnic composition of populations, changes to the distribution of body dimensions are forever occurring.
Kinanthropometry is the interface between anatomy and movement. It takes the measurement of the human body and determines it’s capability for function and movement in a range of setting .
Applications of Kinanthropometry
Data on number of human body measurements drawn directly or determined are computed to various indices and thus describe physique. It is imperative that there will be inevitable changes in the distribution of body dimensions due to changing lifestyle, nutrition, activity levels and ethnic composition of populations. Kinanthropometry plays an important task here by exploiting human body measurement and determining its potential for function and movement in a varied and changed scenario. Though kinanthropometry is comparable to mechanistic approach to human motion i.e. anthropometry, the studies in kinanthropometry are confined to width, length and girth measurements rather than the changes that take place in the human physique due to physical training.
The contribution of kinanthropometry entails a significant role in solving issues related to growth, nutrition, exercise and performance.
Its application involves measurement to assess human size, shape, proportion, composition, maturation and function.
Its aim is to put the athlete into prime focus and gives a clear evaluation of the individual structure status or provides for quantification of differential growth and training influences. This is so because without having a comprehensive picture, growth of individuals and their structural evolution, selection of talent and monitoring of training would not yield positive result. Hence, kinanthropometry fundamentally offers the essential structural foundation for the monitoring of athletic performance.
Globally, there has been an increasing secular trend in body size of people and among different populations. This can be used as benchmark for recruitment in disciplined forces, as well as for modifying and refining the basic measurement scale for the manufacturing of equipments and uniforms a domain of kinanthropometry.
Though the human body has been studied for ages, the progress from the study of corpses to the concept of body compartments has been rather recent. Consequently increasingly accurate quantification of the living human physique has been possible. Subsequent to increasing revelation of precise evaluation of human body, there has been development of numerous theories and advanced approaches that lead to further understanding of the human physique, techniques, and inventions and existence of sophisticated instruments with the help of kinanthropometry in concert with anthropometry, somatotyping, human anatomy and physiology, is one such method.
Somatotyping is classification system of quantified expression and description of human physique. It portrays the physical characteristics of the body and defines body type through the analysis of its three components: endomorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy, Endomorphy represents the relative fatness; mesomorphy the relative musculo-skeletal robustness, and ectomorphy the relative linearity or slenderness of a physique. A somatotype of human body is usually given as a composite of three numbers, in which each number demonstrates the strength of the respective component parts. Heath-Carter method, a widely accepted method using anthropometric parameters defines somatotype as a quantitative description of the current shape and composition of human body. Hence somatotyping together with kinanthropometry has its application in the clothing industry by improvising the traditional sizing systems or fitting using the structure and function of the human body. To a large extent kinanthropometry utilizes external anthropometry and it is assumed that these measurements reflect information about the structure and composition of internal tissues. Measurements made on the body describe the present status or phenotype, but is important to recognize the genetic endorsement as well as the result of adaptation and environmental effects (Carter, 1984). The development of sport sciences contributing significantly in developed countries is reflected by the growth of sports and physical education of the country.
Kinanthropometry is one such science in this backdrop and the integral approach of both applied and basic science can be utilized in developing the standard of sports and competitive performance hence continued working on this parameter would improve standards in sports. Kinanthropometry is a promising scientific technology and is fast becoming imperative with time, which attempts to assess the physical structure of individual in terms of gross motor performance.
Kinanthropometry has developed into an important tool in the hands of physical educationists and sports scientists to study the size, shape and body composition of sportspersons in relation to their performance.
Kinanthropometry engages at the ground level in the identification of a sportsperson. Various kinanthropometric measurements and indices, and their bearings on motor skill performance have been comprehensively deliberated upon paving way for sports kinanthropometry as a special branch, not only as a parameter of selective diagnostic procedure, but also as a performance prediction tool.
In the recent years the field of kinanthropometry has come into limelight and has been widely recognized. The significance of morphological characteristics of the sportsperson in the performance of sports event has picked up momentum. It has become almost imperative to study the morphology of the sportsperson, to have comparison with physique and morphology in view of champions at various levels. The physique of the Olympic players can be used as the bench mark for their respective events.
But then it does not remain static as with every new record there is a change in physique and morphology with positive secular trend human getting bigger, larger and maturing faster over decades. This means that standards of the most advantageous physique of today may not exactly be so in future, with no compromise on muscularity. But this does not imply that the continuous use of application of kinanthropometry would not play a significant role.
The study through kinanthropometry comes into action in creating the pre-requisite and trainable characteristics of sportsperson and athletes. Certain measurements like stature, leg length, arm length etc do not generally change under normal circumstances. Athletes in a particular sport need to have such distinguishing uniqueness that would complement him during the game. It is very important as the success of this uniqueness will facilitate an athlete to achieve better during competition. The information, thus provided can be used as norm for assessing the performance status during screening. The performance in any event of ports is an outcome of inclusive and intricate range of physiological and biomechanical variables and skill traits, within different sports and not just physique or morphology that determines the success. The anthropometric proportions of an athlete identifying body shape, proportionality and composition play a vital role in shaping the changes for achievement in a chosen sport among elite athletes, and it is unquestionable that athlete with ideal body type for a particular sport will stay competitor. The characteristic body shape which we observe within sports today are outcome of both natural selection of thriving body type over succeeding generations, and also an adaptation to the training demands within the present generations. Kinanthropometry utilizing the body composition, somatotype and proportionality plays a fundamental role for athletic training and selection of the talented person. All three characters elucidate an individual’s morphological profile, which present as baseline for planning and monitoring athletes may serve as a reference in choosing talented probable, despite the well known fact that sports performance are reliant of several factors, and winning an event requires much more than an individual player’s build and physical fitness.
Body composition is compartmentalization of body weight in terms of absolute and relative amounts of fat mass and fat-free mass. The estimation and evaluation of fat mass and fat free mass hold very important aspect in health, nutritional status and physical fitness assessment. As stated earlier, somatotype refers to classification of the human body comprising into three essential elements: endomorphy, or relative adiposity; mesomorphy or relative musculoskeletal development; and ectomorphy or relative human linearity. The link between different body dimensions and stature are explained by human proportionality – an extremely vital concern for any person who wishes to pursue sports. This is so because this relationship is linked with a person’s physical ability to meet the biomechanical demands of a particular sport or even playing position within a given sport. It is a known fact that athletic talent and accomplishment, as well as propensity for a particular sport, depend greatly on proportionality.
Relevance of Kinanthropometry
Kinanthropometry is a promising scientific specialization utilizing the application of measurement to evaluate human size, shape, proportion, composition, maturation and its gross function.
It holds significance for problem – solving in matters associated to growth, exercise, performance and nutrition.
The application of kinanthropometry has been comprehensively used in predicting the secular trend in increased body size of and among different ethnic groups world wide.
The standards for physical recruitment in the armed forces and improving the measurement scale for manufacturing uniform can utilize the criterion developed using research in kinanthropometry.
The performance in sports and selection of the athlete represent a critical element of body measurements of an individual. Generally a person excelling in one sport may not be so in another e.g. a shot putter in all probability cannot give good performance in the sprinting event and vice-versa. Number of studies conducted has demonstrated that physique and body composition of athletes and sportsperson are explicit of different physical activity.
There have been number of studies that have proved a strong relation between adult stature of an individual and his stature at childhood. Stature is key morphological feature in majority of physical activity. It becomes imperative for prediction of adult stature and other physical dimensions in childhood as it is of vital significance. It images a benchmark to sports counselor for facilitating the sport problem in making a choice of a particular sporting activity best suited to their prospective adult physique and body characteristic. Consequently the sports counselor or coaches are in a position to suggest the most suitable physical activities to the sports probable say aged 9-11 years, keeping in view their adult stature. It has been observed that lot of physical activities are initiated by some of the sportsmen at the preadolescence age. By doing so, it would facilitate them to undertake/take an extensive training in particular athletic event. A human biologist domain lies in understanding the dynamic pattern of height growth of an individual. Kinanthropometry aids in distinguishing and learning the mystique of various dynamic processes and phenomenon of life. They are interested in answers at different levels tissue, cellular and molecular. The same height is not suitable for all the sports as the distribution of height varies notably in different sportive activities. Sport counselor could counsel the young children interest’s to some other suitable physical activity if they are following some incorrect physical activity. All these corrective steps are probable only if suitable prediction standards are available to sports counselor/coaches. It may not be inappropriate for counseling to play an effective role in steering clear of frustration caused after years of committed training by those probable whose probability to achieve the required physical status as an adult are only slim. Kinanthropometry’s objective is not only to study variations in various body measurements of different individuals but also among different populations. This facilitates in appreciating the growth process and maturation in individuals, as a result it’s bearing upon physical performance and work capacity of the individual. The uniform manufacturers can make use of the data provided by kinanthropometry and somatotyping to give finesse to their patterns and sizing system.
The application of kinanthropometry involves phenotypic as well as the morphological changes before and after physical training and therefore caters to the relationship between genetic, physical exercises and body shape of these disciplined force personnel can be determined.
Case study
Since 1928, physical anthropology of the Olympic athletes has been interestingly studied. Kohlraush measured approximately 300 athletes at Amsterdam. 1948 United States Olympic Games was studied by Cureton. Their findings concluded that differences were observed in age, weight and height among the various events .Tanner found out that there was marked difference in the somatotypes of the athletes and the general population.
Case study
Kukushkin(1964) the Soviet Union State General Institute of Physical culture studied adult sportsmen and found out that each sport has its own peculiar influence upon the physical development and functional capability of an individual. Basketball players had largest chest expansion while weight-lifters and wrestlers had the largest chest circumference; swimmers had the largest lung capacity.