Somatotyping
Development and Applications

J. E. Lindsay Carter (Author), Barbara Honeyman Heath (Author)

9780521359511, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 10 November 2005

520 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 3.1 cm, 0.764 kg

"...well written and exceptionally illustrated with photographic material, as well as figures and detailed tables with a lot of data....Ownership of this volume is a must for all libraries and for everyone who is engaged in constitutional research, in general, and somatotyping, in detail." Albrecht L. Claessens, Quarterly Review of Biology

Somatotyping is a method of description and assessment of the body on three shape and composition scales: endomorphy (relative fatness), mesomorphy (relative musculoskeletal robustness), and ectomorphy (relative linearity). This book (the first major account of the field for thirty years) presents a comprehensive history of somatotyping, beginning with W. J. Sheldon's introduction of the method in 1940. The controversies regarding the validity of Sheldon's method are described, as are the various attempts to modify the technique, particularly the Heath-Carter method, which has come into widespread use. The book reviews present knowledge of somatotypes around the world, how they change with growth, ageing and exercise, and the contributions of genetics and environment to the rating. Also reviewed are the relationships between somatotypes and sport, physical performance, health and behaviour. Students and research workers in human biology, physical and biological anthropology and physical education will all find valuable information in this book.

Acknowledgements
Preface
Foreword
1. History
2. Review of somatotypes methods
3. Human variation in adult somatotypes
4. Growth and aging
5. Genetics
6. Sport and physical performance
7. Health, behavioural variables and occupational choice
8. Overview and new directions
Appendices
Glossary
Index.

Subject Areas: Human biology [PSX], Physical anthropology [JHMP]