Anthropometrics

“Anthropometrics is a science that is concerned with measurements of the human body; more specifically, it is the science of body measurements and proportions of the human body in various activities” (Nussbaumer, p. 33). Have you ever sat in a chair that seems too short for the table? I have, and I know that it can be very uncomfortable. This is an indication that whoever designed the chair did not pay very close attention to anthropometrics. Anthropometric data is used to design products like chairs and tables for the average size human.

Human Dimensions

Now let’s talk about some of the measurements that are needed for anthropometrics. These measurements are:

• Standing height
• Sitting height
• Knee height
• Popliteal (behind the knee) height
• Elbow-rest height
• Thigh thickness
• Buttock-knee length
• Buttock-popliteal height
• Elbow-to-elbow breadth
• Seat breadth
• Weight

All these measurements are used to create an anthropometric chart that represents the average human dimensions. Every person will fit into either the 5^th percentile, 50^th percentile, or 95^th percentile. Remember learning about that bell curve in your statistics class? Well that is exactly what this is (but without all that boring math stuff…) Most people are around the 50^th percentile, these are the people of average height. The 5^th percentile is shorter people and the 95^th percentile is tall people.  This chart is extremely useful for designers because it allows us to design the best possible products for different sizes of people.

Frequency Distribution Curve

However, there are subtle differences in body proportion size between different cultures and genders. For example, women are often shorter than men, and girls tend to grow slower than boys. Below is two pictures of my brother and I. The first picture was taken in 2015, and the second was taken in 2018. This picture shows how fast boys grow compared to girls and how much taller men are than women. Also, whites are generally taller than Asians. Knowing who you are designing for is very important. If you have a client who is short you will want to give them a shorter chair, so their feet can touch the ground while they sit. This allows them to be more comfortable and perform better at work.

Men vs. women heights
Pictures taken off my phone

Anthropometric data can also vary between generations. Changes are affected by social and economic factors. For example, a child who is undernourished will not grow as fast or as big as a child who receives good nutrition. Poor nutrition stunts the child’s growth and takes away their chance to reach their full growing potential. Also, studies show that the average height of humans have increased by four inches since the end of the eighteenth century. This research proves that people are growing taller each generation. Soon the anthropometric chart will have to accommodate the changes in height. 

Sources: Nussbaumer, L. L. (2018). Human factors in the built environment. New York, NY: Fairchild Books, An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing.