Case study 

Anthropometric data and Australian populations – do they fit?

Ward S.
Ergonomics Australia – HFESA 2011 Conference Edition, 2011 11:44.

Abstract

Background: Dimensions of stature, sitting height and buttock-knee length have been measured from tertiary design students in Sydney over the last four years as part of a learning exercise in anthropometry. Collected measurements from a total of 184 students now allow comparison with data from other surveys. Aims: The purpose of this study was to check the ‘fit’ of collected student measurements with comparable data from a range of countries. This was intended as a case study in extracting and comparing data from on-line anthropometric databases – in this case selecting data from samples with an age range similar to the undergraduate student group. Method: Students used tape measures against reference surfaces to collect the required dimensions from one another. Data from other studies for comparison were taken mainly from on-line civilian databases made available through the international WEAR Data Network. A search query was used in each case to select data only from surveys undertaken no earlier than 1997, with subjects 19-25 years old, and to extract measurements corresponding to those measured from the student group. Results: Data meeting the search requirements, for both males and females, were found in studies undertaken in the United States, Brazil and Netherlands. Data for stature only were found in studies undertaken in Korea, Japan (male only) and Australia (male only). An Australian study (females only) was found with data for stature and sitting height. Calculated 5th to 95th percentile ranges of included dimensions were compared. Conclusions: For the dimensions compared, the 5th to 95th percentile range of the student dimensions aligns reasonably closely, for practical purposes, with the combined 5th to 95th percentile ranges of two studies identified in the paper.

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