Centre for Applied Anthropometry
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ADAPT project (Australian Defence Anthropometric Personnel Testing) |
Anthropometry is a very old science which relates to the measurement of body dimensions. These may be lengths (e.g. the length of the thigh bone or femur), breadths (e.g. the width across the shoulders, the biacromial breadth), girths (e.g. waist circumference) as well as more common measured such as stature (height) and mass (how much you weigh). It also includes the measurement of skinfold thickness at various sites on the body (e.g. at the back of the upper arm, tricep skinfold).
Anthropometric measurements are taken on a variety of people for a variety of reasons: monitoring athletes; tracking growth, development, and motor performance in children; linking physical activity and nutrition interventions to changes in body size, shape and composition; assessing changes in body dimensions in response to disease; identifying markers for potential sporting performance.
The system of anthropometric measurements used by the CAA is the ISAK system. ISAK (the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry), which developed from its precursor the International working group on Kinanthropometry (IWGK), has members from countries all over the world and has worked since 1986 to develop standards in anthropometry. The ISAK accreditation system for anthropometrists has operated since 1996. To date over 1500 anthropometrists from 18 countries have been accredited in anthropometric measurement in this scheme. The aim of ISAK is to establish global standards for anthropometry. Adoption of these standards allows comparisons to be made locally, nationally and internationally between sample groups.
The Centre for Applied Anthropometry (CAA) is one of the research concentrations within the School of Health Sciences. It was formed in early 2004. The Centre has two main roles. The first is to act as a vehicle for the initial commercialisation of the “product” or foreground Intellectual Property of the Australian Defence Anthropometric Personnel Testing (ADAPT) Project. The second role is to foster research and scholarship in the field of anthropometry, with particular attention to the new technology of 3-D anthropometry.