Professor Hans de Ridder of the School of Biokinetics, Recreation and Sports Science did the North-West University proud when he was once more classified as the only level 4 Anthropometrist in Africa. Anthropometry is the science of measuring people’s bodies, usually for health and sports purposes.
According to De Ridder, there are only 16 anthropometrists in the world who are qualified at this, the highest, level. In the examination he recently took in Scotland, he achieved a final mark of 95% and his accreditation was thus re-established for the next four years.
This science uses specialised techniques to measure people, because the human body is very complex and intricate to measure. This data plays an extremely important role in determining a particular country’s level of obesity, as well as in designing clothing and equipment. “Anthropometric data of South Africans has changed considerably during the last three decades.
“We are experiencing a large increase in overweight and obesity in adults as well as children. Research shows that nearly two-thirds of the South African population is overweight,” says De Ridder.
“Contrary to the case in other developed countries, women in South Africa have a bigger problem than men, with as much as 70% of all women being overweight. Approximately 38% of overweight women (four out of 10) are classified as clinically obese, which means they have a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30. We define obesity as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat in the human body that poses health risks such as, among others, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes.”
He attributes this increase in weight to an unhealthy lifestyle that usually includes, among other things, an excessive consumption of unhealthy food and particularly, too little exercise.
Anthropometrists take basic measurements such as skin folds, limb and trunk circumferences, skeletal leg lengths, et cetera, but there are also more advanced measurements such as percentage of body fat, percentage of bone and muscle mass, body volumes, surface areas, three-dimensional body shapes, somatotypes, and the like.
In the world of health anthropometry is used to classify people according to obesity, overweight and BMI to determine whether or not they are at risk of poor health. In sports the percentage of fat, muscle and bone of athletes is carefully measured as it plays an important role in conditioning and performance.
Children are also measured and monitored for growth, maturation, obesity and malnutrition. “Earlier research at the NWU proved that South African children have, alongside the United States and Britain, the third-highest obesity figures in the world. Children who walk less than 10 000 paces a day run the risk of being diagnosed with chronic diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol or type 2 diabetes,” says De Ridder.
It is therefore crucially important that children be active from a young age. “They must play, do physical education at school, take part in sport and follow an active lifestyle. The role our schools and especially parents play in this regard is also extremely important to ensure that our South African children maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.”