Thirty years of anthropometric changes relevant to the width and depth of transportation seating spaces, present and future

Abstract

This paper reports the results of an investigation into changes in body shape anthropometry over the past several decades and discusses the impact of those changes on seating in transport, especially airliners. Changes in some body shape dimensions were confirmed in a sample of students at TU Delft; several of the changes, e.g. hip breadth, seated, are relevant to the ongoing design of seating. No change in buttock knee length was observed. The fit between current user anthropometry and current airline seat design, especially regarding seat width, was investigated. A comparison of the average current seat breadth with global anthropometric data suggests that accommodation may be problematic, with less than optimal width for passengers' shoulder and elbow widths.

Developing a Multi-Criteria Decision Making approach to compare types of classroom furniture considering mismatches for anthropometric measures of university students

“…Stature (S): The vertical distance from the floor to the top of the head (vertex) was measured while the subject stands erect, feet together and unshod, the head oriented in the Frankfort plane [ 6 , 13 , 22 , 61 ].…”

“…Hip Width (HW): The horizontal distance measured in the widest point of the hip in the sitting position [ 19 , 22 , 61 ].…”

Anthropometric Data of Chilean Male Workers

“…The increase observed in the Chilean male adult working population points out that there is a need to update designs, especially those associated with the seated posture. According to Molenbroek et al [27], those increments have an impact on chair and sitting design. Shoulder breadth, shoulder height sitting, buttock-popliteal distance, and hip width; are directly used as fitting criteria for backrest width, backrest height, seat depth and seat width.…”

Assessment of the ergonomic risk from saddle and conventional seats in dentistry: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…However, it is worth noting that adopting a good posture and using the correct furniture are not enough to reduce the overload on the osteomyoarticular tissues of dentists [61][62]. Besides seat design, the human, occupational, and organizational factors also play an important role in terms of load conditions in the human body [63][64][65]. Psychosocial factors are also major risk factors for persistent low back pain in workers, and they should be considered along with the physical labor requirements, reducing the disability related to lumbar pain [66].…”