KS4 Physical

Education
Body Types & Weight

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Learning objectives

Learning objectives
What we will learn in this presentation:
The characteristics of the three extreme
somatotypes
How different somatotypes are suited to
different physical activities
How body shape can be altered
Definitions of overweight, overfat and obese
How body fat can be measured
How weight can affect performance.

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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 performers somatotype can be measured against the
three extreme somatotypes:
Endomorph

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Mesomorph

Ectomorph

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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

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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

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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
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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 persons 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:

1, 7, 2
Low endomorph

High mesomorph

Low ectomorph

What would a person with this score look like?

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Mesomorph

Most sports favour the

strong, muscular limbs
and low body fat of the
mesomorphic shape.
The Australian swimmer,
Ian Thorpe, has a classic
mesomorphic body shape.

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The mesomorphic shape

is the most common body
shape among elite
performers.

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Which somatotype?

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Somatotype charts

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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.

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Somatotypes in sport

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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.
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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.
Muscle girth People with big, well-developed
muscles can weigh a lot without being overweight.
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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.
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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.
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 EMPICS Ltd

Obesity

Being obese does not stop you from becoming a

successful performer in some sports. Andy Fordham
was World Darts Champion in 2004.
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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.

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women should not

have less than
10% body fat.
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Weight

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

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Measuring fat
In terms of health, a persons 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).
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Body Mass Index (BMI)

Another way of estimating body fat is to calculate an
individuals body mass index (or BMI).
BMI is calculated by dividing the individuals weight (in
kilograms) by their height (in metres) squared.
BMI =

weight (kg)
height2

So, a person who weighs 70 kg and is 1.70 m tall has

a BMI of:
70
= 24.2
2
1.70
A BMI of 1925 is considered healthy.
Over 30 is obese.
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Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI is not an appropriate test for everyone. It is calculated
using a persons 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?

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Weight and performance

A persons weight can have a dramatic effect on their
performance in different activities.
In some sports, it is advantageous to be heavy.
Heavy wrestlers can be
harder to topple because
their centre of gravity is
lower.
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.
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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.
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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.
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Effects of under eating and overeating

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Exam-style questions
1. 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.
2. a) What is meant by a performers 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.
3. Describe how under eating may affect an individuals
performance.

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