1. Physique Body Types & Weight
KS4 Physical Education
Physique Body Types & Weight
What the course needs you to know…
Title
Objectives (what you should learn)
Content (you should understand these issues)
Physique
To consider the link between body type and Somatotype.
To consider the three types of extreme Somatotype that exist.
To consider the most suitable body type for a role or position in a particular sport.
Body typing as Endomorph, Mesomorph and Ectomorph.
The most suitable body type for a particular sport or playing role/position within that sport.
Knowledge of the particular sports for each type and the reasons for their suitability.

2. Somatotypes
People come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Body type or physique can greatly affect performance in different activities.
Body type is also known as somatotype.
A performer’s somatotype can be measured against the three extreme somatotypes:
Endomorph
Mesomorph
Ectomorph

3. Endomorph Extreme endomorphs have the following characteristics:
A lot of body fat
A lot of fat on the upper arms and thighs
Wide hips and narrow shoulders
Fairly slim wrists and ankles

4. Broad shoulders and narrow hips Strong forearms and thighs
Mesomorph
Extreme mesomorphs have the following characteristics:
Very little body fat
A muscular body
Broad shoulders and narrow hips
A large head
Strong forearms and thighs

5. Ectomorph Extreme ectomorphs have the following characteristics:
Very little muscle or body fat
Narrow hips and shoulders
Thin legs and arms
A narrow chest and abdomen
Thin face and high forehead

6. What would a person with this score look like?
Which somatotype?
All performers are made up of elements of these three extreme somatotypes.
Most people have a mixture of mesomorphic, endomorphic and ectomorphic characteristics.
A person’s somatotype can be graded using a scoring system. They are given 3 scores between 1 and 7, according to how well they conform to each of the extreme somatotypes.
1 is a low score, 7 is a high score. For example:
Suggested answer:
They would be muscular with little body fat.
1, 7, 2
Low ectomorph
Low endomorph
High mesomorph
What would a person with this score look like?

7. Mesomorph
The mesomorphic shape is the most common body shape among elite performers.
Most sports favour the strong, muscular limbs and low body fat of the mesomorphic shape.
© EMPICS Ltd
The Australian swimmer, Ian Thorpe, has a classic mesomorphic body shape.

8. Which somatotype?

9. Somatotype charts

10. Somatotypes in sport
Certain somatotypes tend to be found in certain sports.
The ideal somatotype for a performer will depend on their sport or event. In some cases, the position that they play in a particular sport might also be important.
Consider, for example, the various body sizes and shapes in a rugby team.

11. Somatotypes in sport

12. Altering body shape
Body type is largely determined by the genes you inherit from your parents.
However, you can alter your somatotype by training, or by changing your diet.
Eating more and/or exercising less will increase your body fat, making you more endomorphic.
Weight training will increase muscle size, making you more mesomorphic.
Eating less and/or exercising more will decrease your body fat, making you more ectomorphic.
Dramatically changing your body shape is difficult and can be damaging to your health. Big changes are hard to maintain.

13. Weight
Every individual has their own optimum weight – the weight at which they are healthy and able to perform at their best.
Your optimum weight depends on a number of factors:
Height – In general, the taller you are, the more you should weigh.
Sex – Men usually have a higher optimum weight than women of the same height.
Bone structure – Some people have bigger bones and are naturally heavily built, without being overweight.
Image © 2006 Jupiterimages Corporation
Muscle girth – People with big, well-developed muscles can weigh a lot without being overweight.

14. Overweight and overfat
A person who is significantly heavier than their optimum weight is classed as overweight.
Being overweight is not necessarily harmful as it is possible for the extra weight to be in the form of muscle.
However, if the extra weight is in the form of fat, then the person is classed as overfat. This means that an abnormally large percentage of their body is composed of fat.
Men are overfat if more than 19% of their body is fat.
Women are overfat if more than 25% of their body is fat.
Being overfat can affect your health, increasing your risk of heart disease and other illnesses.

15. Obesity Obese people are people who are extremely overweight.
Men are obese if more than 25% of their body is fat.
Women are obese if more than 30% of their body is fat.
Obesity is very damaging to health. As well as heart disease, obese people run a higher risk of diabetes, varicose veins, menstrual disorders, infertility, skin diseases, liver disorders, cancer, joint problems and even depression.
Very obese people can be classed as morbidly obese, meaning that they are so overweight that it is endangering their life.

16. Obesity
© EMPICS Ltd
Being obese does not stop you from becoming a successful performer in some sports. Andy Fordham was World Darts Champion in 2004.

17. Underweight
Being significantly below your optimum weight can also be bad for you.
The body needs some fat reserves – underweight individuals have a lower resistance to infection and can find it difficult to recover from illness. They may feel constantly tired and bone strength may deteriorate.
Underweight women can have trouble getting pregnant.
It is recommended that:
men should not have less than 5% body fat.
women should not have less than 10% body fat.

18. Weight

19. Weight charts
A rough way to determine whether someone is overweight or not is to use a height-to-weight chart.
The results are fairly arbitrary and take no account of muscle bulk and frame.

20. Weight charts

21. Measuring fat
In terms of health, a person’s weight is less important than the amount of fat they have.
Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to measure the amount of fat in a person without laboratory equipment. An estimate can be obtained using skin-fold callipers.
The thickness of the skin and outer layer of fat is measured in four places:
biceps
triceps
subscapula (bottom of the shoulderblade)
supra-iliac (abdomen).

22. A BMI of 19–25 is considered healthy.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Another way of estimating body fat is to calculate an individual’s body mass index (or BMI).
BMI is calculated by dividing the individual’s weight (in kilograms) by their height (in metres) squared.
weight (kg)
BMI =
height2
So, a person who weighs 70 kg and is 1.70 m tall has a BMI of: 70
= 24.2
1.702
A BMI of 19–25 is considered healthy.
Over 30 is obese.

23. Body Mass Index (BMI)
BMI is not an appropriate test for everyone. It is calculated using a person’s height and weight only, so like the chart, the result does not take account of build and lifestyle.
Why do you think that a bodybuilder might be classed as too heavy by a BMI test, despite having very little body fat?
Under what circumstances could a person with too much body fat be classed as normal by a BMI test?
Answers:
People who carry a lot of muscle can be classed as overweight by a BMI test, because the muscle makes them unusually heavy for their height. These people are not actually overweight.
A person with a lot of body fat could be classed as normal if they have very little muscle.

24. Weight and performance
A person’s weight can have a dramatic effect on their performance in different activities.
Heavy wrestlers can be harder to topple because their centre of gravity is lower.
In some sports, it is advantageous to be heavy.
In some sports it is advantageous to be light.
Being light makes it easier for female gymnasts to keep their balance and control their momentum.

25. Weight and performance
Being overweight for your activity due to overeating can harm performance.
The heavier your body is, the harder it is to move. An overweight performer may suffer from:
reduced stamina, due to having more weight to carry
reduced flexibility
reduced agility.
They may also suffer from the more general health problems associated with being overweight, which could affect their participation and performance.
Obese individuals can find it difficult to participate in physical activity at all.

26. Weight and performance
In some sports, performers may come under so much pressure to lose weight that they become underweight.
Pressure to weigh less can lead to under eating, and in extreme cases, anorexia. This is an illness where an individual is so worried that they are fat, that they starve themselves.
Performers who under eat often lack energy and concentration. Their strength and stamina may decline.
In sports like boxing or horse racing, in which competitors must be a certain weight, performers may end up using sweatsuits, saunas and even drugs in order to lose weight quickly. These methods can lead to severe dehydration, damaging performance.
Image © 2006 Jupiterimages Corporation

27. Effects of under eating and overeating

28. Exam-style questions
a) Describe the physical appearance of a performer with an extremely ectomorphic body shape.
b) Give an example of an activity that this performer is likely to be suited to and explain why this activity favours ectomorphic individuals.
a) What is meant by a performer’s optimum weight?
b) Explain why the optimum weight of a female ballet dancer will differ from that of a male sprinter of the same height.
a) Very little muscle or body fat, narrow hips and shoulders, thin legs and arms, narrow chest and abdomen, thin face and high forehead. b) Examples could include long-distance runner, high jumper, gymnast, jockey. Long-distance running favours performers with little body fat, as they have less weight to carry. High jump favours athletes with long, light bones and little body fat, as tall, light performers find it easier to jump high, etc.
a) Optimum weight is the weight at which a performer is healthy and able to perform at their best. b) Optimum weight for women is normally lower than that of men of the same height. The sprinter is also likely to have greater muscle girth, leading to a higher optimum weight. The ballet dancer is likely to have a lighter, smaller bone structure than the sprinter. The demands of the two sports also lead to differing optimum weights – dancing favours lighter performers who tend to be more flexible and agile and often find it easier to control their momentum. Sprinting usually favours performers with a lot of muscle bulk.
Under eating can lead to tiredness, loss of stamina, loss of strength, reduced ability to recover from illness and injury and loss of concentration.
3. Describe how under eating may affect an individual’s performance.