Somatotypes of schoolchildren from Chile: higher endomorphic components among adolescent girls.

Objective: this investigation describes the somatotype components and somatotype as a whole in Chilean children and adolescents.

Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted in Valparaiso, Chile. The somatotypes of 1,409 schoolchildren (747 males) aged 6 to 18 yearswere assessed using the Heath-Carter anthropometric method. Comparative category analyses (endomorph, mesomorph, and ectomorph) were performed using t-tests. To analyze whole somatotypes along two and three dimensions, the somatotype dispersion mean (SDM) and somatotype attitudinal mean (SAM), respectively, were used in addition to a somatochart representation.

Results: the somatotype of the male sample showed a marked mesomorph-endomorph biotype (4.9-4.8-2.1), whereas that for the female sample showed a mesomorphic endomorph classification (5.8-4.3-1.8). The samples differed significantly by sex, with an increased endomorphic component observed in females aged 13 to 18 years old. These sex differences were primarily evident in adolescents with high somatotype values in two or three dimensions (SDM ≥ 3.0; SAM ≥ 1.2), indicating high between-group dispersion. The somatocharts showed displacement of the endomorphic components for both sexes, particularly females.

Conclusions: the results provide strong evidence that biotype changes have increased, primarily in terms of relative adiposity (i.e., the endomorphiccomponent) and predominantly in adolescent girls.