A Persons Somatotype - Lab Report Example

?HSE102 Anthropometry Assignment Introduction........................................................................................................................ A person's somatotype is a rough allocation of a number of physical characteristics to one of three different body types; ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph. These different physical types have different strengths and weaknesses which are particularly evident in the sporting world, as each type gives players advantages in certain sports. Theoretically, everyone belongs to a certain somatotype and each somatotype is suited to certain sports more than others. The individual in question for this paper has chosen the sport of netball, and the paper will discuss whether or not their morphology is suited to this sport or not using measurements and the current literature. Netball is based on early forms of basketball and is usually played with two teams of seven players (Soh et al, 2009). There are three things that are found commonly in netball which are not necessarily completely characteristic of the sport; it is played in Commonwealth countries, with young players, and predominantly female players. It is played on a rectangular court with a hoop at each end, similarly to basketball, and it can be played both inside or outside (Soh et al, 2009). Each of the seven players has a designated position which corresponds to their role and the area of the court in which they are allowed to play. The ball starts in the centre of the court where one of two central players catches it and attempts to pass it down the court in an attempt on the goal (Soh et al, 2007). As with many other sports, different somatotypes are suited to netball better than others. Additionally, different somatotypes are preferred for each of the different positions because of the different skill types involved (Makgae et al, 2005). A study by Soh et al (2009) found that the best players were the tallest and heaviest in the competition, and tended to be meso-endomorphic in somatotype. A study by Makgae et al (2005) found that the majority of netball players mesomorphic ectomorphs, with a second largest percentage being pure ectomorphs. The major difference between these two studies was the ages of the partipants, which may have caused the slight difference in results. It may have also been that these results reflect different playing positions of certain players, because attack positions will generally benefit from being taller and more ectomorphic, whilst defense would reap less benefits from these characteristics. Another interesting fact from the literature is that somatotype did not negatively or positively impact the liklihood of injuries in professional netball players (Hopper, 1997). Anthropometry Proforma® Test Date 22/082011 DOB: 30/08/1990 Sport: Netball Subject Postcode: 2640 Gender: Male / Female Country of Birth: Australia Mass (kg): 72.4 Height (cm): 162.8 Skinfolds (mm) ID Site Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Median 1 Triceps 11 13 12 12 2 Subscapular 23 20 20 21 3 Biceps 15 19 19 17.7 4 Iliac crest 18.5 21 23 20.8 5 Supraspinal 16 15 14 15 6 Abdominal 11.5 14 11.5 12.3 7 Front thigh 30 32 29 30.3 8 Medial calf 23.5 25.5 24.5 24.5 Girths (cm) ID Site Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Median 9 Arm (relaxed) 31 31 31 31 10 Arm (flexed and tensed) 31 31 31 31 11 Waist (minimum) 79 78 79 78.7 12 Gluteal (hips) 94 92.5 94 93.5 13 Calf (maximum) 39 41 41 40.3 Breadths (cm) ID Site Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Median 14 Humerus 6 6.5 6.5 6.3 15 Femur 9 7.5 9.5 8.7 Somatotype rating form Somatochart results The somatotype test was done to my classmate using the Heath and Carter somatotying method. The measurements were height body mass, skinfold thickness over the triceps and calf, biceps and calf girths and humerus and femur width. Based on calculation in the table above, it can be seen that the calculated of endomorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy are 5,5 and 1 respectively. Therefore, the anthropometric somatotype can be calculated as follow: X= ectomorphy-endomorphy=1-5=-4 Y= 2*mesomorphy-(endomorhy+ectomorphy)=2*5-(5+1)=10-6=4 Thus, my classmate;s somatotype can be located on above graph which is mesomorphy-ectomorphy. Discussion (2 pages) The calculations above show that the individual in question fits into the mesomorphic ectomorph type. This is particularly interesting because the study by Makgae et al (2005) found that this was the most common of all somatotypes found in female netball players. This suggests that the individual in question is very suited to the sport of netball. What is unclear from this information is whether the body type of this individual is purely genetic or has been modified over time with training relevant to the sport. The literature does not cover in detail the thought that this may occur with those who have been playing their sport of choice for a considerable amount of time. For example, in netball, ectomorphs seem to have an advantage. An ectomorph is someone with long limbs and a tall stature who has relatively little body fat (Ackland et al, 2009). Whilst the limbs and the stature are pre-determined by environment and genetics, having little body fat may come from intensive and extensive training in netball. It is also interesting that the individual in question is 162.8cm, which is not particularly tall, yet the calculations seem to lie towards the ectomorphic side. This part of anatomy cannot be altered with training and would suggest that it is individual's body measurements as covered above which lead to the categorization of mesomorphic ectomorph. Another interesting thing about this individual is that the literature always seems to suggest a mesomorphic component to the most able netball players, and this component is found in this data. A mesomorph is someone that has a medium bone structure, low fat levels and a solid torso (Ackland et al, 2009). This would suggest that, whether the netball player is meso-endomorphic as seen in Soh et al (2009) or meso-ectomorphic as seen by Makgae et al (2005), there is definitely a tendency towards this medium body type. Netball players do not seem to lie in the extremes of the somatotypes. This may be because netball players have to utilize a variety of skills, such as arm movements, swift running and hand-eye coordination, and this is true of whichever position the athlete is playing in. Height To return to the fact that the individual measured for this data was 162.8cm, it is interesting to further consider the literature in this area. Although the data above does not detail the skill of the individual, a study by Soh et al (2009) states that 'to be good in netball, the player has to be tall and have an endo-mosomorphic body'. This factor of being tall seems to occur throughout the literature, which would suggest that this individual is not best suited to the sport of netball in this respect. As previously mentioned, height is not something that can be altered with significant amounts of training and therefore this may be a limiting factor in this individual's netball career. Body Fat Another thing that appears frequently in the literature about netball players is that they are required to have a low level of body fat (Soh et al, 2007). The measurements above do not show any detail on body fat, although the individual does not fall into the endomorphic category which is the one that suggests a higher amount of body fat. This suggests that the player could be well suited to the game in this respect. Playing Position As previously mentioned, netball has various playing positions which correspond to different requirements in anatomy and somatotype. Again, this data does not show which position the individual plays in, but the fact that this individual falls fairly centrally on the chart suggests that the position of center or defense may benefit this player according to research by Hopper (1997). It would be useful to take more measurements and have more information about the playing style of the individual before drawing any formal conclusions. Conclusion The data above gives mixed signals about whether the individual's anatomy is suited to the game. Whilst the data seems to show that having a mesomorphic related body type does help (as seen in this player), it also suggests that height is a good anatomical trait to possess in the game. We cannot draw any true conclusions from the data given because there are many conflicting answers and some information that is seen in the literature and not in the data above. References Ackland, T.R., Elliot B.C., & Bloomfield, J. (Eds.) (2009). Applied anatomy and biomechanics in sport. USA: Human Kinetics. Carter, L. (2002).Chapter 6: Somatotyping. In K. Norton, & T. Olds (Eds.), Anthropomertrica: A textbook of body measurement for sports and health courses (pp. 148-170). Sydney: UNSW Press. Hopper, D. M. (1997). Somatotype in high performance female netball players may influence player position and the incidence of lower limb and back injuries. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 31(3), 197-199. Makgae, P., Motlokoa, G., Mashita, R., & Monyeki, K. (2005). Physique and Physical Fitness of Rural South African Primary School Netball Players and Non-netball Players: Ellisras Longitudinal Study. Journal of Physical Education & Recreation (Hong Kong), 12(2), 1-8. Soh, K. G., Soh, K. L., & Husain, R. (2007). Physical Characteristics of Malaysian Netball Players in Relation to Playing Skill. Journal of Physical Education & Recreation (Hong Kong), 13(1), 54-57. Soh, KG, Ruby, H., Soh, K., Mohd Sofian, O., & Marjohan, J. (2009). PHYSICAL PROFILE COMPARISON BETWEEN BASKETBALL AND NETBALL PLAYERS IN MALAYSIA BASED ON PERFORMANCE AND PLAYING POSITION. JUMMEC, 12(1), 22. Read More