A study on hand growth of Korean adolescent boys from 14 to 19 years

Abstract

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. AbstractThis study was performed to investigate the hand size growth of Korean adolescents boys. Subjects were between 14 and 19 years (n=352). We collected the right hand size data of 19 measurements from each subject using 3D hand scanner. The total 26 hand measurements were analyzed including seven calculated measurements. Subjects were divided into three age groups (early, middle and late). Their hand size were compared. The results showed that all hand length measurements were significantly difference among age groups. Adolescent boys hands were sharply grown at age 16 years old. The hand dimensions of middle age group were compared with twenties men (n=215). There were significant differences between two groups. The middle age adolescents' hands were shorter and thicker than twenties men. Subjects were also divided by weight and height. Weight and height was closely related to hand size. The heavier and taller subjects had the thicker hand. Their fingers were longer than others. The adolescent boys and twenties men who were taller than the twenties' average height (173.4cm) were compared. Twenties men's hands were longer and thinner than that of adolescent boys. These results imply that the male adolescent hands grow short and thick in the adolescent period. Fingers continuously grow up as a long and thin shape after adolescent period.