ISSN: 2147-5652
Turkish Journal of Sport and Exercise
http://dergipark.ulakbim.gov.tr/tsed/index
Year: 2015 - Volume: 17 - Issue: 2 - Pages: 35-41
DOI: 10.15314/tjse.49873
Anthropometric profile, body composition and
somatotyping of national Iranian cross-country runners
Hamid ARAZI, Bahman
MIRZAEI, Hadi NOBARI
Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
Address Correspondence to H. Arazi, hamidarazi@yahoo.com
Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the anthropometric profile of selected national athletes. The purpose of this study was to
find out anthropometric measurements, body composition and somatotyping of Iranian cross-country runners. The participants
were 9 male national Iranian cross-country runners. The age of athletes was between 20 to 32 years. Cross-country personal best
36min 55s (47s); training volume: 120-180 km.wk; All subjects were assessed for height, weight, breadths, lengths, girths and skin-
fold thickness. Percentage of body fat was calculated from the sum of 7 measurements of skin-fold thickness. The somatotype and
height to weight ratio (HWR) as well as the skin-folds extremity to trunk ratio (E:T) were also calculated. The Mean (SD) of LBM
(Lean Body Mass), %BF (Body Fat), WHR (Waist Hip Ratio), HWR (Height to Weight Ratio), E:T (Extremity/Trunk) skin-fold ratio,
SAD (Somatotype Attitudinal Distance) and Manourrier were 60.36 (8.25), 8.07 (1.71) %, .82 (.06), 44.01 (1.00), .77 (.17), 0.90 (0.33)
and 1.10 (.63), respectively. The Mean (SD) endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph were 1.43 (.43), 4.10 (.56), and 3.63 (.73),
respectively. National Iranian cross-country runners seem to have mesomorph and ectomorph are equal (or do not differ by more
than one-half unit), and endomorph is smaller. Despite population comparisons would be required to identify any connection
between specific anthropometric dimensions, these reference data reported in the present study for useful to practitioners and
researchers, carry immense practical application and should be useful for future investigation on endurance runners selection,
talent identification in cross-country running and training program development.
Keywords: Anthropometry, cross-country, somatotype, runner.
INTRODUCTION
In the endeavor to achieve excellence in sport, all
of the possible concomitants of performance have
been subject to scientific research. Modern sport
science is characterized by the purposefulness of its
endeavor to improve elite athletes and to discover
talents as precisely as possible (27).
The World Cross-Country Championships have
been held under the auspices of the International
Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) since
1973. Because of its nominal length (12 km) (9), the
senior men’s race most similar to the track distance of
10,000 m. The former six Olympic 10,000 m races have
been won by athletes who were also competitive in
the World Cross-Country Championships. For
instance, World Record holder and two-time Olympic
Champion Kenenisa Bekele won the event on six
times (11). And also Hamid Sajadi as the first Asian
Cross-Country Running Champion at 2001 and Iran
was 10,000 m races record.
Elite and world class athletes have different
physiques than individuals in the non-athletic
population (24). In track and field athletics, several
studies have considered anthropometric variables
relevant to event participation and body composition
of runners has been examined extensively (6,21).
However, most studies have been with non-elite and
heterogeneous groups of performers. There are many
different factors influencing performance in
endurance exercise (17). Apart from physiological
parameters, several anthropometric parameters show
an association with endurance performance such as
body mass (2,26), body mass index (BMI), body fat
(1,21), length of the upper leg (29), length of limbs
(19), body height (2), circumference of thigh (29), total
skin-fold thickness (2) and skin-fold thickness of the
lower limb (1,21).
Arazi et al. 2015
Turk J Sport Exe 2015; 17(2): 35–41
© 2015 Faculty of Sport Sciences, Selcuk University 36
A variety of anthropometric and training
characteristics have been identified as predictor
variables for race performance in endurance and
ultra-endurance athletes (14). It has been well
established that specific physical characteristics or
anthropometric profiles indicate whether the player
would be suitable for the competition at the highest
level in a specific sport (18). Endurance runners in the
study of Hetland et al. (10) had very low amounts off
at in the abdomen and legs, which is associated with
training intensity. Best marathon runners are usually
short and have low body mass (1.70 m and 61 kg on
average, respectively). The low body mass is a
consequence of very low body fat percentages
(usually lower than 7%, sometimes even under the
recommended limits) (32). Lower skin-fold values are
associated with running performances up to 10,000 m
(1,2) and skin-fold thicknesses in the lower limb are
positively associated with running performances
10,000 m (1,2,21).
Nevertheless, few studies have investigated the
track and field athletes in Islamic Republic of Iran.
There is no comprehensive data set on the current
anthropometric characteristics of Iranian cross-
country runners. Thus, the present study, the
quantification of morphological characteristics of elite
athletes can be a key point in relating body structure
to sports performance. Knowledge of the pacing
profiles used by endurance athletes of different
abilities can therefore aid both athletes and coaches in
understanding successful pacing profiles.
The aims of this study were: 1) to describe the
current anthropometric profiles of Iranian cross-
country runners and 2) to establish a set of reference
values useful for future investigations on athlete
selection, talent identification, and training program
development.
MATERIALS & METHODS
Design and protocol
The purpose of this study was to determine the
anthropometric characteristics of top-class Iranian
cross-country runners and was designed as
observational research in describing pacing profiles.
This by means of the measurement
anthropometric variables, body height and body
mass, lengths (cm), arm span, arm, forearm, hand,
thigh, lower leg, foot, breadths (cm); biacromial,
transverse chest, anterior -posterior chest, humorous,
femur, biilocristal; girths (cm), relaxed arm, flexed
arm, forearm, wrist, chest, waist, hip, upper thigh,
mid-thigh, calf, ankle. Skin-folds of the seven sites
were chest, axilla, triceps, subscapular, abdomen,
suprailium, front thigh and relative fat patterning,
which refers to the distribution of subcutaneous skin-
folds on the body/extremity [(triceps, front thigh,
medial calf)/trunk (subscapular, iliac crest,
abdominal)] ratio. Body composition (percentage of
lean body mass and body fat), of the athletes was
assessed by the skin-fold method (Jackson & Pollock
(13)), body mass index and body somatotype, SAD
(Somatotype Attitudinal Distance), the three-
dimensional distance from a profile to the mean of all
profiles, height to weight ratio (HWR), according to
Carter and Heath (7); were calculated from
anthropometric measures.
Participants
The sample consisted (nine male runners)
averaged 25.44 years of age with a standard deviation
of 4.15 years. All runners had been training for more
than 6 years and had taken part in national or
international competition. All measurements on
Participants were performed during the tapered
stages for the World Military cross-country
championships, the Conseil International du Sport
Militaire (CISM). During the course of the year, the
amount of training sessions range from about 11
sessions and 145 km during maximum build up
phases to about 7 sessions and 70 km during mid-
competition season.
Data Collection
Anthropometric variables of the subjects were
measured using the techniques provided by the
International Society for the Advancement of
Kinanthropometry (ISAK) and in a resting state (22).
These measurements were carried out by one trained
investigators using standardized procedures. The
person responsible for assessment had 3 years
experience in this type of procedure. Informed
consents were obtained prior to data collection.
Instruments were calibrated prior to use and all
variables except body mass and height measurements
were taken on the subject’s right side. Every
measurement was taken three times by the same
person, and the mean value was used for calculation.
Arazi et al. 2015
Turk J Sport Exe 2015; 17(2): 35–41
© 2015 Faculty of Sport Sciences, Selcuk University 37
Table 1. Absolute size characteristics for national Iranian cross-country runners.
Variable
Mean
Std. Deviation
Maximum
Minimum
Age (years)
25.44
4.15
32
20
Weight (kg)
63.55
8.71
80
52
Height (cm)
175.22
7.20
190
168
BMI* (kg/cm
2
)
20.63
1.57
22.50
18
Sitting height (cm)
86.38
5.40
96.50
78.50
Personal best record (min. s)
36.55
.47
37.21
36.05
Skin-fold (mm)
Chest
3.66
1.22
6
2
Axilla
4.66
1.22
7
3
Triceps
4.33
1.22
6
3
Subscapular
8.44
1.33
10
7
Abdomen
7
3.04
12
4
Suprailium
5.55
2.06
10
3
Front thigh
7.11
1.69
9
5
Sum of 7 skin-fold (mm)
40.78
8.50
56
29
Body density
1.08
.004
1.09
1.08
Body fat (%)
8.07
1.71
8.94
5.06
Lean body mass (kg)
60.36
8.25
76.20
50.60
Body fat (kg)
3.20
1.02
4.50
1.40
E:T* skin-fold ratio
.77
.17
1
.52
Lengths (cm)
Thigh
46.55
1.66
44
49
Calf
48.44
2.18
53
46
Arm span
179.88
10.64
207
172
Forearm
25.83
1.45
28
23.50
Hand foot
18.50
1.11
21
17
Arm
29.33
2.23
33
27
Leg foot
29.38
1.57
32
27
Breadths (cm)
Biocrominal
47
2.69
51
43
Transverse chest
31.27
2.03
28.50
34.50
Ant-post chest
22.02
1.71
20
24
Humerus
6.53
.23
6.80
6.10
Femur
10.01
.85
11
8.80
Biilocristal
31.44
1.86
34
28
Girths (cm)
Relaxed arm
25.57
.80
27
24.40
Flexed arm
27.87
1.22
30
26
Wrist
16.13
1.03
18
14.30
Forearm
25.18
1.21
26.80
23.30
Chest
90.91
5.95
85
97.15
Waist
73.98
4.61
80
66.20
Hip
89.74
3.78
85
94.40
Upper thigh
52.97
3.15
56
46
Mid-thigh
49.45
3.36
53
45
Calf
35.93
2.28
39
32.40
Knee
35.61
1.92
40
33.30
Abdominal
75.96
5.17
82
65
Shoulders
103.55
5.45
111
96
Ankle
21.68
1.10
23
20.40
WHR* (cm)
.82
.06
.93
.73
HWR*
2.79
.28
3.27
2.37
Manouvrier
1.10
.63
1.19
1.01
* BMI (Body Mass Index); E:T (Extremity / Trunk) skin-fold ratio; WHR (Waist Hip Ratio); HWR (Height to Weight Ratio).
The technical error of measurement, inter- and intra-
observer, was lower than 5% for skin-folds and lower
than 2% for the other variables. All anthropometric
measurements were taken in the morning (08:00-11:00
hours).
Weight was measured to the nearest 0.1 kg in
light clothes without footwear using a digital scale
(Seca, Birmingham, UK). Height was measured with
as stadiometer to the nearest 1mm. Widths and
diameters of body parts were measured by using
sliding caliper. Circumferences were measured with a
non-elastic tape to the nearest 1mm. lengths were
Arazi et al. 2015
Turk J Sport Exe 2015; 17(2): 35–41
© 2015 Faculty of Sport Sciences, Selcuk University 38
taken with the steel tape to the nearest 0.5 cm. Skin-
fold thickness measurements were taken with a
Lafayette caliper (Lafayette Instrument Company,
Lafayette, IN, USA). Body density (BD) was estimated
using the method of Jackson and Pollock (13). BD was
transformed to %BF by the Brozek’s equation (4).
Height-adjusted endomorph values were used and
the somatotypes were plotted on a two-dimensional
grid system somatochart using the appropriate
software (Somatotype 1.2 software).
Statistical analysis
All other variables fitted to a normal distribution.
Mean, standard deviation, maximum and minimum
values are presented.
RESULTS
The means, standard deviations, maximum and
minimum for age, physique, anthropometric variables
and body composition are presented in table 1. The
ages of the Cross-country runners in this study varies
from 20 to 32 years. The mean body weight of cross-
country runners was 63.55±8.71 kg. The mean height
of cross-country runners was 175.22±7.20 m. The
average percentage of body fat for the cross-country
runners was 5.16±1.54%. The somatotype of runners is
also presented in table 2 and the individual
somatotype ratings are plotted in Form. 1.
DISCUSSION
The anthropometric profile of an athlete plays a
role in determining his or her potential for success
within a sport (30). Specific physical characteristics or
anthropometric profiles are required for the highest
level of performance in a specific sport (18). In this
investigation, anthropometry and body composition
data of national Iranian cross-country, including 9
runners were studied, with their performance times in
12 km races. One goal of sports sciences is to predict
exercise performance by laboratory measurements.
Anthropometric properties can be divided into two
groups. The first, such as body height and the length
of the limbs, cannot be associated with the subjects,
whereas the second group of anthropometric
properties can be the latter group includes body
weight, skin-fold thicknesses and limb circumference,
which may be altered by specific diets and training
(17).
Table 2. Somatotype variables for national Iranian cross-country
runners.
Variable
Mean
SD
Maximum
Minimum
Endomorph
1.43
0.43
2.1
0.8
Mesomorph
4.10
0.56
4.9
3.1
Ectomorph
3.63
0.73
4.8
2.7
SAD*
0.90
0.33
1.57
0.48
HWR*
44.01
1.00
45.55
42.67
* SAD (Somatotype Attitudinal Distance); HWR (Height to Weight Ratio).
It has been found that the athletes with lower
body fat percentage had higher maximum oxygen
uptake (VO2max). In other words, the athletes with
lower body fat percentage seemed to utilize oxygen
most efficiently (12). Arrese & Ostariz (1) showed in
male runners, a high correlation between the thigh
and calf skin-folds and 1500 m as well as 10,000 m
race times. The abdominal and suprailiac skin-fold
thicknesses were related to race time in runners such
as female and male half-marathoners, male
marathoners (16). The sum of skin-folds was related to
race performance in runners such as male 10,000 m
runners, female and male (2,8). However, according to
Norton et al. in order to avoid the errors and
assumptions which could be associated with the use
of generalized predictive equations of fat percentage,
the sum of skin-fold values from the seven measured
sites is recommended as the standard by several
authors (23). It would appear that taking into account
only the sum of seven skin-folds can provide a
general assessment of the athlete. Correspondingly, in
this study we determined a low sum of seven skin-
folds. In the study of Hetland et al. (10) found that
elite long-distance runners had very low amounts of
fat in the abdomen, arms and legs, and reduced
adipose subcutaneous tissue in the legs was
associated with the weekly distance run. During long-
duration performance, fat seems to be reduced and
skeletal muscle mass remains stable. Differences are
obvious in skin-fold values among runners competing
in classical distances ranging from 100 m to 10,000 m
(20). Furthermore, Bale et al found that total skin-
folds, among other variables such as type and
frequency of training and the number of years of
running, were the best predictors of running
performance and success over 10,000 m (2). This is
probably due to the fact that these runners undertake
a higher training volume and that in this vent fat
metabolism prevails in training and competition (21).
The values of body fat percentage and the sum of all
Arazi et al. 2015
Turk J Sport Exe 2015; 17(2): 35–41
© 2015 Faculty of Sport Sciences, Selcuk University 39
skin-folds indicate that runners, regardless the event,
have prominently less body fat compared to other
athletes of most sport disciplines (31). Minimum level
of fatness is particularly advantageous for gymnasts,
figure skaters, wrestlers, distance runners and other
endurance athletes (12).
Body mass is an easy-to-determine variable for
anthropometry. In addition to body mass, body height
is also an easy-to-determine variable for
anthropometry (14). The general anthropometric data
of runners to the values reported by Burke & Brush
(5) for the 1975 and 1976 AAU National Junior Cross-
Country Championship teams. The mean height and
weight of those runners x = 16.2 yrs) were 162.2 cm
and 48.6 kg, respectively, compared to the 175.2 cm
and 63.5 kg, respectively, in the present study. Body
height seems to be associated with performances in
10-km running (2). Black runners tend to be smaller
and lighter than white runners (17), although these
results could not be confirmed in the study of
Rahmani et al. (25). However, in contrast to the other
studies, found a large span in height in runners, that
ranged from 1.57 m to more than 1.90 m, and
concluded (32). Body composition greatly affects the
energy-related physical strength and skill in various
sports (18).
With the determination of body mass and body
height, the variable body mass index using the
equation body mass (kg) divided by body height (m2)
can be calculated (14). In other studies, body mass
seems to have a marked effect on endurance
performance (17). The effects of body mass and BMI
on performance have been investigated in several
studies. The BMI of Kenyan runners is 19.2 kg/m2
compared with 20.6 kg/m2 for the best Scandinavian
runners (16,30).
Other factors have also been discussed for
runners. In long distance runners, length of the upper
leg and thigh girth are related to performance (29), in
cross-country runners, seem to be more
anthropometric measures in the prediction of
performance. Also the length of limbs has been
reported as an important predictor variable for
endurance performance (14).
A further anthropometric characteristic related to
endurance performance is the circumference of limbs
of the upper arm, the thigh and the calf (15,17,29).
An important observation from the study is the
apparent divergent association between trunk and
extremity skin-folds (E:T) with running performance
(1). Furthermore, fat patterning refers to the relative
distribution of subcutaneous fat on the body as
opposed to absolute amounts of fat (30). To examine
differences in fat patterning, most researchers
compare skin-fold thicknesses on the trunk and
extremities. In the present study, the mean E:T is .77
whereas, Kenyan marathon runners were found to
have the mean .38 indicating that Kenyan marathon
runners seem to have a greater centralization of
subcutaneous adipose tissue (30). High correlations
were found between the extremity/trunk fat ratio and
400 m and 1500 m race time (r¼0.69,P¼0.028),
(r¼0.77, P¼0.016) respectively (1).
Figure 1. Individual somatotypes national Iranian cross-country runners. O = mean somatotype (1.4- 4.1-3.6).
