6 Things You Should Know About Anthropometrics
Have you ever heard the term anthropometrics? Anthropometrics is a measure of human, usually a physical measure such as height, weight, length of hands, length of legs and so forth. Maybe some of you are working in the health sector already know about anthropometrics. But do you really understand thoroughly about anthropometrics? Here are 7 things you should know about anthropometrics.
1. Anthropometrics is not only for the measurement of nutrient
Most terms of anthropometrics are heard in the health sector, especially the science of nutrition. In this field, anthropometrics is used as benchmark of human health and growth, especially for infants and children. As a result when we hear the term anthropometrics, the mind must be immediately drawn to the health of children. But you should know that the real anthropometrics also used extensively in other fields such as industrial engineering, especially in ergonomics to design a safe, healthy, and productive system of work. So anthropometrics is not only related to health, but also other fields such as engineering.
2. Anthropometrics measures not only static variable
When you hear the term anthropometrics, certainly the first one pictured in your mind is measures such as height and weight. These measures are called anthropometric variable. Other examples of variable are the width of the head, length of arms and much more. The majority of well-known variables are static variables such as height and weight. This means that these variables are measured in stationary conditions. But you should know that there is also a dynamic variable. It is a variable that is measured with moving limbs or bodies. Examples of this variable are the rotation of arm, rotation of the palm of the hand, ankle rotation angles and much more. Once again, anthropometrics is the measure of human, so all that is in human, including human movements can be measured and included in anthropometrics.
3. The number of anthropometric variables is more than 2000
Anthropometric variables are the characteristics of the human body can be measured, defined, and standardized in units of measurement. As already mentioned in the previous point, examples of anthropometric variables are height and weight and these two variables is the most familiar to the general public. There are actually many type of variable ranging from linear (height, length etc), diameter, curvature, circumference, and volume of the whole body or specific parts up to dynamic variable as mentioned in the previous point. You should know that the number of anthropometric variables is very much. The number of variables that have been discovered is about 2,200 variables. There is even a source that says that the number is actually much more. It is not strange because human beings are composed of many constituent of the human body which respectively measured. Measurements can be performed even in the scale of the cell.
4. One of the main factors determining anthropometrics is DNA
According to many references, anthropometrics is influenced and determined by age, nutrition, socioeconomic conditions, work / daily activities, and time of measurement. But you should know that there is one key factor that is often missed in many studies of anthropometrics. These factors are DNA or genes. DNA is the carrier and the determinant of human characteristics so that all the measures that exist in humans include height, weight, etc. is also determined by DNA. DNA was not the only determining factor because there are other factors such as environmental factors (nutrition, work / activities etc as mentioned previously). However, many studies have shown that DNA is more dominant factor in determining the characteristics of humans.
5. Anthropometrics can be measured digitally
The majority of anthropometrics was measured manually. For example height is measured with meter’s height; weight is measured with scales etc. But you should know that a lot of research has developed a digital tool for anthropometric measurements. With digital equipment is no longer need to use the meter, scales, etc.
6. Psychometrics is part of anthropometrics
Psychometrics is a psychic measure such as IQ, SQ, EQ, etc. Psychometric seems rarely associated with anthropometrics. But you should know that psyche is part of human. Therefore, the psychological measures are also included in anthropometrics. Moreover, one source says that psychometric was first discovered by an anthropologist named Francis Galton in his anthropometric laboratory.