Applied Human Science
Print ISSN : 1341-3473
Changes in Body Shape of Young Individuals from the Aspect of Adult Physique Model by Factor Analysis
Noriaki TsunawakeYasuaki TaharaKoichi YukawaTetsuo KatsuuraHajime HaradaKoichi lwanagaYasuyuki Kikuchi
Author information
JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

1995 Volume 14 Issue 5 Pages 227-234

Details
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify characteristics of age-related changes in body shape in adolescence, in 11- to 19-year-old boys and girls, by using previously reported physique models of adult men and women as the scale. The scale consisted of four factors obtained by factor analysis using 30 items as variables, such as the values measured for the physique, skinfold thickness and body composition. The four factors were Factor 1: body fat, Factor 2: mass, Factor 3: Ieg length to height ratio, and Factor 4: Iength, and were interpreted in the men and women in a similar manner. The subjects were 307 boys and 368 girls; all were healthy. Thirty items were measured and included the values measured for the physique, skinfold thickness and body composition, as in the men and women. Factor scores in the subjects were standardized by mean and standard deviation for each item in the adult subjects, and calculated for individuals by using the coefficient of factor score in the adult subjects. The body shapes of the boys and girls were investigated from the factor score by age calculated for each factor. The following results were obtained: 1. Factor 1 tended to gradually decrease and reached the adult level at 15 years of age in the boys. But it tended to gradually increase and reached the adult level at 15 years of age in the girls; 2. Factor 2 rapidly increased with age in the first half of the teen years in the boys and girls, and it reached the adult level at 18 years of age in the girls, whereas this factor did not reach the adult level even at 19 years of age in the boys; 3. with regard to Factor 3, Ieg length tended to be temporarily somewhat long at 13-15 years of age in the boys, whereas the girls showed changes at approximate-ly the level of the adult subjects; 4. Factor 4 rapidly increased with age in the first half of the teen years in the boys and girls, and reached approximately the adult level at 17 and 15 years of age in the boys and girls, respectively. These results suggest that, the physique in adolescence is almost equivalent to that of adults and that body shape is essentially fully formed in the early 20s in boys and by about 18 years in girls through rapid growth in both mass and length during the first half of the teen years.

Content from these authors
© Japan Society of Physiological Anthropology
Previous article Next article
feedback
Top