Body Constitution - Robust or Slim Constitution?

How is it established?

How is an individual's body constitution established?

The body constitution of a subject is established by detecting its skeletal diameters and comparing them with those of the reference population. These detections, which lead to classifying individuals into three categories ( thin constitution, medium constitution and robust constitution ), are normally performed at the level of the wrist, elbow, shoulders, hip and knee.

It is possible, for example, to establish the body constitution by measuring the width of the right elbow with a caliper. In this case it is important that the reference points are palpable (for the obese it is not indicated) and that the branches of the caliber exert a fair pressure on the two ends of the bone segment.

At home level, however, the body constitution can be calculated by measuring the circumference of the right wrist. This detection must be carried out with a flexible but anelelastic metric cord, to be positioned at the base of the wrist as shown in the figure (immediately below the styloid processes of the radius and ulna).

Definition of body size based on elbow width (Frisancho method)

BODY CONSTITUTION	Elbow width (cm)
	MAN	WOMAN
Slim Constitution	<6.9	<5.9
Media Constitution	6.9 - 7.6	5.9 - 6.6
Robust Constitution	> 7.6	> 6.6

Definition of body size based on the circumference of the wrist

	Wrist circumference
CONSTITUTION	MAN	WOMAN
brevilinei (thin)	> 20 cm	> 18 cm
normolinei	16 - 20 cm	14 - 18 cm
long-limbed (robust)	<16 cm	<14 cm

For a more precise evaluation, the following equation is used:

The data obtained must then be compared with the references listed in the table.

TYPES OF CONSTITUTION
Constitution	Men	Women
limbed	more than 10.4	more than 10.9
Normolinea	9.6 - 10.4	9.9 - 10.9
brevilineo	less than 9.6	less than 9.9

Constitution and ideal weight

What is the relationship between body constitution and ideal weight?

The body constitution inevitably influences the calculation of the ideal weight. Sturdy subjects, for example, have a clearly higher bone mass than slender individuals and for this reason, with the same body fat and muscle mass, they weigh more.

Lanzola's formula uses the height, sex and circumference of the wrist to provide an estimate of the weight of an individual:

Men

• wrist> 20 cm → Weight = 75 x height (m) - 58.5
• wrist 16-20 cm → Weight = 75 x height (m) - 63.5
• pulse <16 cm → Weight = 75 x height (m) - 69.0

Women

• wrist> 18cm → Weight = 68 x height (m) - 51.5
• wrist 14-18 cm → Weight = 68 x height (m) - 58.5
• pulse <14 cm → Weight = 68 x height (m) - 61.0

Ideal Weight Calculation

Below is the module for the automatic calculation of the ideal weight. Simply enter your gender, height and wrist circumference in centimeters, your body weight expressed in kilograms and then click on the "calculate ideal weight" button.