Abstract
Three-dimensional measurements of Chinese middle-aged and elderly women and younger women were used to ascertain the body type characteristics of middle-aged and elderly women. An average body shape was determined based on principal component analysis of 3-dimensional body shapes, and the body type characteristics of middle-aged and elderly women and younger women were compared. In addition, a model of the trunk that closely followed the contours of the body was created to simulate a virtual model of an average body shape, and the characteristics of the body shape of middle-aged and elderly women were ascertained. Principal component analysis of 3-dimensional body shapes identified the forward/backward or left/right of the body, body fat percentage, and spinal curvature as body type characteristics of middle-aged and elderly women. A cross-sectional comparison with the body angles of an average body shape revealed that middle-aged and elderly women had a gently sloping bust, a more protruding abdomen, and a marked disappearance of the “S curve” of the spine. A pattern that closely followed the contours of the body was created based on the average body shape. Body type characteristics of middle-aged and elderly women that were identified in principal component analysis were a rising incline from the anterior obliques to the shoulders, and the degree of obesity was distributed in the upper anterior obliques.
