Abstract
A study of somatotype in the general Japanese population from children through to the elderly has never been executed. No study of somatotype relating to the life history and ecological conditions where the subjects live and work is available in the literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is a specific character of body shape among groups of inhabitants who have engaged in their profession for a long period of time, i.e. in the elderly. Three groups were selected according to profession: a farming group, rice farmers in particular; an inshore fishery group; and a group of subjects in varied occupations in a large urban area. The subjects ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s; the subject number consisted of 51 males and 42 females in a farming village, 53 males and 48 females in a fishing village, and 55 males and 66 females in the center of Tokyo. 10 anthropometric measurements were obtained, and somatotypes were determined according to the Heath-Carter method in each location, as well as in each age group and each sex. The results were as follows. 1) As for body size, no difference was detected between the farmers and fishermen/women, whereas the subjects in Tokyo were greater in size than the subjects of the other 2 groups. This difference is possibly due not only to daily energy consumption and dietary habits, but also to the regional extent for spouse selection. 2) As for somatotype, a clear difference correlating to region and/or profession was detected. Endomorphy was most frequently encountered in Tokyo in either sex, whereas in the farming and fishing villages the mesomorphic element was prevalent. Moreover, because in the females in the fishing village the mesomorphic element was the most prevalent, the sex difference with regard to somatotype was very small in this village.
