Determining the anthropometric characteristics of adult male population of Turkey

Abstract

Ergonomics briefly can be described as “human-centered” design. Anthropometry, the science of human body measurements, plays a major role in ergonomic design. Thus, designers must be familiar with anthropometric data and their applications so that they can design work systems, machines, equipment, tool, proper sizing of buildings, clothing and consumer products to achieve safe and efficient operations and/or use. Anthropometric data may show variation among nationalities and races. Hence, an anthropometric database is a need for every nation. Although there are a number of studies on the anthropometry of population of Tukey, most of them lack in various aspects to establish a valid and usable anthropometry database for the population of Turkey. Therefore, the main objectives of this study are as folows: (i) to generate an up-to-date anthropometric database of adult male population of Turkey, (ii) to investigate the effects of age and occupation on body dimensions, (iii) to compare the results with past male anthropometric data of Turkey and with other nationalities, and (iv) to investigate the dimensional changes over time. For the purpose, 65 static and dynamic body dimensions were taken from 250 adult males ages from 18 to 70 yrs. Sampling is done in a stratified manner including subjects from seven regions of Turkey. Subjects were divided into two occupational and five age groups. As a result of this study, 65 body measures of adult male population of Turkey were statistically determined. Average stature and weight were found as 171.5 cm and 76.6 kg, respectively. Results also indicate that stature and other vertical body dimensions decreases with age significantly, proving the secular trend. Also, nonmanual group was found significantly heavier than the manual group. A comparison with 1980s male data indicates that, on average, stature increased 3 cm and weight increased 8 kg. The comparison results with other nationalities indicate that anthropometric data of the male population of Turkey, in general, is similar to the some Southern Europeans and Americans in the USA, greater than Southern Asians and lower than Northern Europeans.