Somatotype and body composition of healthy adult men and women and their contribution to civilization diseases risk

BACKGROUND: Somatotypes describe changes in body structure and allow estimations of biological differences and similarities between subjects. They can also highlight the relationship between body composition and risk factors for worsening health. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to evaluate lifestyle disease risk in adult men and women based on resting blood pressure and body composition. Somatotyping was used to determine body type as endomorphic, mesomorphic, or ectomorphic. METHODS: The study used the anthropological measurements of 344 subjects, 179 men and 165 women, to determine somatotype using the Sheldon method. Body composition analysis employed an electrical bioimpedance method, while a sphygmomanometer measured heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The study has been explicitly described as a cross-sectional study involving 344 adults aged 18-75 years (mean = 40.8 years), including 179 men (18-73 years, mean = 40.3 years) and 165 women (18-75 years, mean = 41.4 years). RESULTS: Men were more likely to be mesomorphic, and women were more likely to have an endomorphic somatotype. Individuals with a predominantly mesomorphic somatotype had higher total muscle mass. Furthermore, mesomorphs had the highest levels of body composition components (muscle, bone, fat-free mass, and water), and ectomorphs had the lowest. Generally, somatotype components correlated significantly with age, with a greater proportion of endomorphy and mesomorphy in older age groups. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference varied in women depending on somatotype. In men, BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were also somatotype dependent, with similarly elevated values found in endomorphs and mesomorphs and lower values in ectomorphs. Resting blood pressure was associated with somatotype in women, while ectomorphy was negatively associated with risk factors for disease in older men. CONCLUSIONS: Somatotype may provide complementary information to individual measurements for assessing biological risk and predisposition to disease among adults, especially women. As such, somatotype can be considered a useful and appropriate tool for describing health-related characteristics across different populations, including both healthy and diseased individuals.