© Kamla-Raj 2016 Anthropologist, 24(3): 737-745 (2016) Body Height and its Estimation Utilizing Arm Span Measurements in Macedonian Adults Stevo Popovic1, Dusko Bjelica2, Georgi Georgiev3, Dragan Krivokapic4 and Rajko Milasinovic5 1,2,4,5Faculty for Sport and Physical Education, University of Montenegro, Niksic, Montenegro 3Faculty of Physical Education, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Macedonia KEYWORDS Prediction. Measurement. Stature. Arm Span. Macedonia ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine body height in Macedonian adults as well as its relationship with arm span, as an alternative to estimating body height. A total of 239 students (114 men and 125 women) participated in this study. The anthropometric measurements were taken according to the protocol of ISAK. The relationships between body height and arm span were determined using simple correlation coefficients at a ninety- five percent confidence interval. Then a linear regression analysis was performed to examine extent to which arm span can reliably predict body height. Results displayed that male Macedonians are 178.10±6.79cm tall and have an arm span of 178.78±7.71cm, while female Macedonians are 164.58±5.40cm tall and have an arm span of 164.41±6.42cm. The results have shown that both genders made Macedonians a tall nation but not even close to be in top tallest nations. Moreover, the arm span reliably predicts body height in both genders. INTRODUCTION tains and Osogovo. However, it is interesting to highlight that it belongs to two different moun- The Republic of Macedonia is an indepen- tain ranges, namely, the Shar Mountains that dent, democratic state with a multiparty parlia- continues to the west of Vardar/Pelagonia group mentary system. The governmental system is of mountains, also well known as the Dinaric based on the division of power into legislative, range, as well as the Osogovo-Belasica moun- executive and judiciary. This country is one of tain chain, also well known as the Rhodope range. the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, Total population of the Republic of Mace- from which it declared independence in 1991. It donia, according to the 2002 census, was became a member of the United Nations in 1993. 2,022,547 inhabitants (State Statistical Office However, it was admitted under the provisional 2005). Moreover, the ethnic population of the reference of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Republic of Macedonia is very diverse because Macedonia (FYROM), due to the dispute with of the country’s turbulent past. According to the Greece over its name (United Nations 1993). To- 2002 census, the largest ethnic group in the coun- day, the Republic of Macedonia covers the area try is the Macedonian ethic group, representing of 25,713 square kilometers. It is located in the 64.18 percent of the total population, while the central Balkan Peninsula in southeast Europe and second largest are the Albanians, who dominat- it is landlocked and borders Kosovo (as defined ed much more in the northwestern part of the under UNSCR 1244/99) in the northwest, Serbia country and represent 25.17 percent of the total to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the population. It is also very important to analyze south, and Albania to the west. The Republic of the number of Roma in the country, mostly due Macedonia is a landlocked country that is geo- to the reason the official estimations from the graphically clearly defined by a central valley 2002 census registered just 53,879 persons from formed by the Vardar River and framed along its this ethnic group, while some unofficial estima- borders by mountain ranges of the Shar Moun- tion indicate that there are up to 260,000 Roma in Address for correspondence: the Republic of Macedonia (United Nations De- Dr. Stevo Popovic, velopment Program 2006). Assistant Professor The tallness of the nations in the Dinaric Alps University of Montenegro was recognized by European anthropologists Faculty for Sport and Physical Education Narodne omladine bb, 81400 Niksic, Montenegro more than 100 years ago (Pineau et al. 2005). As Telephone: 00382 (40) 235 207 the modern Macedonians, like the rest of the Fax: 00382 (40) 235 200 nations from former Yugoslavia, fall into the Di- E-mail: [email protected] naric racial classification, it is assumed by the 738 STEVO POPOVIC, DUSKO BJELICA, GEORGI GEORGIEV ET AL. researchers of this study that Macedonian adults timate body height, are very important in pre- might be equally tall or at least very close to the dicting age-related loss in body height. Also, in tallest nations in the Europe, in line with the identifying individuals with disproportionate Dutch (male: 183.8 centimeters; female: 170.7 cen- growth abnormalities and skeletal dysplasia or timeters), Montenegrins (male: 183.21 centime- body height loss during surgical procedures on ters; female: 168.37 centimeters) and Serbians the spine (Mohanty et al. 2001), as well as pre- (male: 182.0 centimeters; female: 166.8 centime- dicting body height in many older people as it is ters). Unlike the most other countries through very difficult to measure it precisely, and some- Western Europe, Macedonia keeps poor records, times impossible because of mobility problems and an update of average body heights among and kyphosis (Hickson and Frost 2003). Macedonian populations is so beneficial as well According to all mentioned above, the re- as its estimation utilizing arm span measurements, searchers believed it would be reasonable to find mostly due to the reason that measurement of the effectiveness of using various body indica- body height is important in many settings (Pop- tors in estimating body height in the Macedonian ovic et al. 2015). population. Furthermore, several studies have It is already well known in scientific literature reported the effectiveness of using various body that the measurement of body height is an indis- parameters in predicting body height and arm pensable variable when assessing nutritional span was found to be the most reliable one (Hick- status (cited in Datta Banik 2011), as well as de- son and Frost 2003; Jalzem and Gledhill 1993; termination of basic energy requirements, stan- Mohanty et al. 2001; Ter Goon et al. 2011). How- dardization of measures of physical capacity and ever, the associations of arm span and body adjusting drug dosage, and evaluation of chil- height was found to vary in different ethnic and dren’s growth, prediction and standardization of racial groups (Bjelica et al. 2012; Brown, Feng physiological variables such as lung volumes, and Knapp 2002; Reeves et al. 1996; Popovic et muscle strength, glomerular filtration and meta- al. 2013; Steele and Chenier 1990; Popovic et al. bolic rate (Golshan et al. 2003; Golshan et al. 2007; 2015), while the study conducted by Quanjer et Mohanty et al. 2001; Ter Goon et al. 2011). How- al. (2014) has reported that the arm span to height ever, there are many conditions in which the ex- ratio changes non-linearly with age and differs act body height cannot always be determined between males and females. Even though sever- the usual way, for example, due to paralysis, frac- al studies of this nature are available on Western tures, amputation, scoliosis and pain (Quanjer et populations, very limited data is available on al. 2014). In such circumstances, an estimate of Macedonian subjects. In the light of rather scarce body height has to be derived from other reliable recent scientific literature, the purpose of this anthropometric indicators such as hand and foot study was to examine the body height in both lengths (Agnihotri et al. 2008; Agnihotri et al. genders of Macedonian adults and the relation- 2007; Kanchan et al. 2008; Rastogi et al. 2008; ship between arm span and body height. Sanliet al. 2005; Uhrova et al. 2015), knee height (Fatmah 2005; Fogal et al. 2015; Hickson and Frost METHODOLOGY 2003; Karadag et al. 2012), length of the forearm (Ilayperuma et al. 2010), length of the sternum The nature and scope of this study qualifies (Menezes et al. 2009; Menezes et al. 2011), verte- 239 students (114 men and 125 women) from the bral column length (Nagesh and Pradeep 2006), Ss. Cyril and Methodius University to be sub- sitting height (Fatmah 2005), length of scapula jects. This group was chosen because the growth (Campobasso et al. 1998), arm span (Aggrawal et of an individual ceases by this age and there is al. 2000; Bjelica et al. 2012; Bubanja et al. 2015; no age-related loss in body height at this age. Datta Banik 2011; Fatmah 2005; Hickson and Frost Although university-educated persons, accord- 2003; Jalzem and Gledhill 1993; Mohanty et al. ing to Bjelica et al. (2012) have been taller than 2001; Popovic et al. 2015; Ter Goon et al. 2011; the general population in Poland (Kulaga et al. Vujovic et al. 2015) as well as cranial sutures (Rao 2011; Wronka and Pawliñska-Chmara 2009), and et al. 2009), skull (Bidmos 2006; Bidmos and Asa- Hungary (Bodzsár and Zsákai 2008; Eiben and la 2005), facial measurements (Sahni et al. 2010) Tóth 2000; Szöllõsi 1998), but not in Montene- et cetera. Therefore, all these anthropometric in- gro (Bjelica et al. 2012; Popovic et al. 2014), the dicators, which are used as an alternative to es- researchers also believe that this sample could PREDICTION OF BODY HEIGHT BY ARM SPAN IN MACEDONIANS 739 fairly represent the whole population of Mace- erwise the respondents had to raise or lower their donia, as students were admitted into the Ss. chin until it was in the Frankfort horizontal plane Cyril and Methodius University regardless of to align their head properly. geographical residence and socioeconomic sta- The arm span is the anthropometric measure- tus, as well as ethnicity.