Human Morphology: Somatotypes, Health Implications and Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive overview of human morphology, focusing on the concept of somatotypes as introduced by William Herbert Sheldon in the 1940s. It defines morphology as the study of the structure and form of organisms, encompassing both external and internal aspects of the hu...Read More

Human Morphology

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Morphology can be comprehensively said to be a branch pertinent to biology that deals
with the all-inclusive study of the structure as well as the form of organisms and their certain
structural traits. It tends to include facets of outward appearance inclusive of structure, colour,
pattern, shape and size, referred to as eideonomy or external morphology. In addition to this,
morphology also consists of anatomy or internal morphology which is composed of structure and
form of internal part such as organ and bone. In addition to this, morphology can be determined
as a branch pertinent to life science that is concerned with the comprehensive study of the gross
structure of a taxon or an organism along with its constituent part. Now, growth across the
lifespan of females as well as males tends to produce alterations within the structure as well as
form of the human body that must be identified within the biomechanical models. Human
morphology is thus considered with study of the shape, size and structure or in other terms,
physique of the human body.
The current project seeks to explore the 3 main kinds of Somatotypes as laid down by
Sheldon during the era of 1940s. Further, it will explain the health implications of one of these
somatotypes.
MAIN BODY
Somatotype can be comprehensively referred to as a taxonomy introduced by an American
psychologist in the year 1940 by William Herbert Sheldon. The main reason or purpose behind
developing this is to effectively categorize the overall human physique as per the relative
contribution of basic three fundamental factirs which the psychologist termed as 'somatotypes',
classified by William Herbert Sheldon as 'ectomorphic', 'mesomorphic' as well as 'endomorphic'.
It has also been identified that the name was given by him after the three germ layers which is of
embryonic development: the first one is endoderm, (which mainly produced into the digestive
tract), the second layer is known as mesoderm, (which usually become muscle, heart as well as
blood vessels) along with the third layer which is named as the ectoderm (which creates the skin
as well as nervous system). Apart from this, it has also been identified that later the different
variations of the whole methodology, was introduced by the original research assistant of
William Herbert Sheldon named as Barbara Heath. After that Lindsay Carter along with Rob
Rempel are still there in the occasional academic use.
1

In addition to this, it has also been examined that a theory named as Constitutional
psychology define as one of the method or theory formulated by Sheldon in the year 1940s,
which was introduced to associate the another element which is somatotype classifications with
the human temperament types. Furthermore, it is also said that the foundation of all these ideas
was basically originated with the help of Francis Galton as well as eugenics. In addition to this,
it has also been said that Sheldon along with Earnest Hooton were seen as the effective leaders of
a school of the thought, commonly famous in anthropology at the duration, which says that the
overall size as well as shape of a individual person's body shows the intelligence, future
achievements as well as moral worth.
Apart from this, it is examined by analyzing various factors that in the year 1953 his book
named as Atlas of Men, the American psychologist Sheldon categorized each and every possible
body types as per the scale which is mainly ranging from 1 to 7 for every sort of the three factors
includes in 'somatotypes'. For this, in the first category is the pure 'endomorph' which is 7–1–1,
whereas on the second category where pure 'mesomorph' is 1–7–1 and on the other hand in third
element which is pure 'ectomorph' scores 1–1–7. These are the ranking giving to each element as
per the somatotypes. From the type of number, it has been said that the individual's mental
characteristics can easily be examined and predicted. Apart from this, it has also been said that in
a late version of pseudoscientific thread among criminology where criminality is being claimed
to be an effective and innate characteristic which can easily be identified through specific
physiognomic markers. Sheldon says that usually criminals tended to be 'mesomorphic'. Also the
system of whole somatotyping is still used by people in physical education field.
The three types of somatotypes are described below in a detailed manner:-
Ectomorphs: This is a body type whereby an individual is acknowledged to be lean and long,
with very little amount of body fat and equivalently less muscle. Individuals pertinent to this
somatotype tend to bear a very hard time while gaining their weight. In this relation, it has been
identified that there are mainly basket ball players as well as fashion models which belong to this
type of category. These individuals are mainly the most hated because of them being genetically
blessed. However, it is also seen that some of the male ectomorphs are not happy about their
narrow chest frame. Further, the females belonging to this category wish for more of the
womanly curves.
2

Endomorphs: The individuals having this kind of body structure tend to possess excessive fat,
several muscles and are known for gaining weight in an easy and rapid manner. In this regard, it
is usually seen that football lineman belong to this category. With respect to this, it has been
identified that the most common examples of this category of individuals include Oprah
Winfrey, Marilyn Monroe, etc.
Mesomorphs: These are the individuals who are known to be athletic, strong and solid. These
individuals are not considered as being overweight or underweight, they can be said to be the
right mix. These individuals can eat too much without being concerned about it. The people
belonging to this category lose and gain weight without putting much effort for it.
After mentioned are the health implications for endomorph which is the selected category
of somatotypes for comprehensive analysis. The individuals who possess this type of body are
acknowledged to be having a slower metabolism rate. This tends to make it easy for these
individuals to attain weight but much harder to lose it at the same time. This kind of body also
tends to stunt muscle growth. This body type of individuals are considered to be the most prone
to any kind of diseases which emerge from excessive weight or fats. The individuals who are
identified to be having an endomorph type of body usually tend to possess soft, round bodies
with a wide waist and large bones, joints, and hips, regardless of their height. Thus, it will not be
wrong to state that the health implications for this somatotype are not really positive. However, it
has been analysed that by following a particular kind of exercise and diet plan, individuals
having endomorphic type of body can get due assistance. This can thus help them in keeping up
to their health goals.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of the discussion done in the report, it can be comprehensively stated that
human morphology is the study of body structure, size, type, etc. In addition to this, the
discussion leads to the emergence of a term named somatotype. In this regard, it has been
identified that somatotype is a taxonomy developed in the 1940s by American psychologist
William Herbert Sheldon to categorize the human physique according to the relative contribution
of three fundamental elements which he termed 'somatotypes', classified by him as 'ectomorphic',
'mesomorphic' and 'endomorphic'. Now, endomorphs have mostly negative health implications
because of their slow metabolism rates and excessive fat and body weight.
3

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ryan-Stewart, H., Faulkner, J. and Jobson, S., 2018. The influence of somatotype on anaerobic
performance. PloS one, 13(5), p.e0197761.
Giannopoulos, N., Vagenas, G., Noutsos, K., Barzouka, K. and Bergeles, N., 2017. Somatotype,
level of competition, and performance in attack in elite male volleyball. Journal of
Human Kinetics, 58(1), pp.131-140.
Iedynak, G., Galamandjuk, L., Kyselytsia, O., Nakonechnyi, I., Hakman, A. and Chopik, O.,
2017. Special aspects of changes in physical readiness indicators of young men with
different somatotypes between 15 and 17 years of age. Journal of Physical Education and
Sport, 17(4), pp.2690-2696.
Drywien, M., Frackiewicz, J., Górnicka, M., Wielgosz, J., Sobolewska, A. and Kulik, S., 2016.
Influence of the somatotype on intake of energy and nutrients in women. Anthropological
Notebooks, 22(3), pp.147-157.
Brodie, D.A. and Cleak, M.J., STABILITY OF SOMATOTYPE IN ENGLISH BOYS AGED 11
TO 15 YEARS USING SHELDON'S PHOTOSCOPIC METHOD: A LONGITUDINAL
STUDY. ACTA KINESIOLOGIAE UNIVERSITATIS TARTUENSIS, p.26.
Dogra, S., 2019. VIEWING SOMATOTYPES THROUGH THE PERSPECTIVES OF
CONSTITUTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY—AN ANALYTICAL STUDY. Editorial
Board, 8(5), p.43.
4