AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY 13:157158 (2001)

Historical Note: Early History of the Anthropometry of

Body Composition
JOSEF BROZEK1* AND MIROSLAV PROKOPEC2
1
Department of Psychology, Lehigh University, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
2
National Institute of Public Health, Prague, Czech Republic

ABSTRACT A pioneering paper outlining an anthropometric approach to the study of body com-
position, written by the Czech anthropologist Jindrich Matiegka, was published in the American
Journal of Physical Anthropology in 1921. For a long time we have searched for information about the
history of the idea and of the paper itself. In recent years, we were able to identify relevant corre-
spondence in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:157
158, 2001. 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Somatometric analysis of the composition
of the human body was outlined by the
Czech anthropologist Jindrich Matiegka
[1921; see also Brozek (1961) and Brozek
and Prokopec (1986)] under a puzzling title.
In time we came to realize that the sug-
gested procedures were intended as a so-
matometric parallel of the testing of psy-
chometric efficiencya term and concept
with which Matiegka became familiar in the
context of his collaboration with psychologi-
cal colleagues (Prokopec, 1991).
In Matiegkas system (Brozek, 1964, p
459460), gross body weight (W) was di-
vided into four components:
W O + D + M + R,
where O weight of the skeleton (ossa,
bone), D weight of the skin, (derma)
plus subcutaneous adipose tissue, M
weight of skeletal muscles, and R re-
mainder.
The estimate of the weight of the skeleton
(O) was based on height and the lateral di-
mensions (breadths) of the bones of the ex-
tremitieshumeral and femoral condyles,
wrists, and ankles.
The weight of skin plus subcutaneous adi-
pose tissue (D) was predicted from the body
surface area and skinfolds measured at six
sites: upper arm, forearm, thigh, calf, tho-
rax, and abdomen.
The equation for estimating weight of
skeletal muscle mass (M) included height
and the measurement of the circumferences
(or the calculated values of the radius minus
skin and subcutaneous adipose tissue) of
the upper arm, thigh, and calf.
The coefficients used in the estimation
equations were derived on the basis of aver-
age values reported in the literature, theo-
retical considerations, and the personal ex-
periences of the author.
One might argue, not without justifica-
tion, that Matiegkas pioneering paper suf-
fered badly at the time of its baptism when
the central concept was christened as test-
ing physical efficiency. This is not what the
paper was about!
To better understand the reasons for the
misnomer, the context in which the paper
was conceived and developed must be
realized: Pragues multidisciplinary Insti-
tute for the Investigation of Children and
Adolescents, with its four departments
Somatological (directed by Matiegka),
Psychological, Pedopathological, and Peda-
gogical. The idea reflected in the title of
Matiegkas paper calls for supplementation
of the psychometric assessment of perfor-
mance capacity by the testing of physical
efficiency. This would have required quan-
titative assessment of selected cardiovascu-
lar, neuromuscular, and relevant sensory
functions. However, Matiegka was a physi-
cian and an anthropologist, not a physiolo-
gist.
Relevant information on the birth of the
paper is contained in the correspondence be-
tween Matiegka and his American col-
league, Ales Hrdlicka, who was born in Bo-
hemia, and who served for many years as
anthropologist in the Smithsonian Institu-
*Correspondence to: Josef Brozek, The Plaza No. 220, 2353
Youngman Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55116-3063. Professor Brozek
is retired from Lehigh University.
Received 24 April 2000; Revision received 17 May 2000; Ac-
cepted 28 June 2000

2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PROD #M99028R
158 J. BROZEK AND M. PROKOPEC
tion and as editor of the American Journal
of Physical Anthropology. The correspon-
dence makes it clear that that the idea of
writing the paper was Matiegkas own. It
was to serve as a first step toward the es-
tablishment of a committee that would for-
mulate methods for the study of the effi-
ciency of the human body. The committee
was to function in the framework of a pre-
paratory congress for the foundation of an
International Anthropological Congress to
be held in Paris in 1920.
On May 7, 1920, Matiegka informed
Hrdlicka about his plans to attend the con-
gress and about technical, primarily finan-
cial, difficulties which he was encountering,
and continued:
I shall send (to Paris) my proposal for
establishing a commission that would
work out a method for assessing work ef-
ficiency of the human body. I justify my
proposal by pointing out that it is a duty
of anthropology to develop a method for
testing human physical capacity, similar
to the methods worked out by psycholo-
gists to test mental capacity. Mental and
physical capacities together constitute
the working capacity and determine the
working efficiency of the person. I am still
working on the methods.
In a letter of November 11, 1920, Ma-
tiegka informed Hrdlicka that he plans to
soon complete the paper. On December 19,
1920, he reportedand this was totally new
information for usthat Dr. (Vojtech) Suk
is translating into English my article for
your journal. Suk was a young Czech an-
thropologist.
To our regret, we failed to locate both the
Czech original version of Matiegkas paper
and its French translation prepared for the
Paris meeting.
LITERATURE CITED
Brozek J. 1961. Body measurements, including skinfotd
thickness, as indicators of body composition. In:
Brozek J, Henschel A, editors. Techniques for mea-
suring body composition. Washington, DC: National
Academy of Sciences/National Research Council. p.
335.
Brozek J. 1964. Jindrich Matiegka and the anthropo-
metric approach to the study of body composition. In:
Rechcigl M, editor. The Czechoslovak contribution to
the world culture. The Hague: Mouton. p. 458461.
Brozek J, Prokopec M. 1986. Matiegkas somatometric
model of human body composition. Dejiny Vedy Tech
(Hist Sci Technol) 19:216228 (in Czech).
Matiegka J. 1896. Growth, development, physical prop-
erties and state of health of the youth of Prague. Dis-
sertations of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts,
Class II, No. 17 (in Czech).
Matiegka J. 1921. The testing of physical efficiency. Am
J Phys Anthropol 5:223230.
Prokopec M. 1991. Biological anthropology in Czecho-
slovakiaan historical outline. In: Roberts DF, edi-
tor. Occasional Papers, Vol. 3, No. 3, International
Association of Human Biologists.