Body Shape in Relation to Socio-Economic Status in Young Adults from the Basque Country

Body shape has a great variability determined, partly, by energy intake and physical activity, as well as by gender and age. The aim of this research was to analyse the relation between socio-economic status (SES) and body shape estimated through the somatotype, in a sample of university students. The sample included 316 males and 635 females aged 18–33. Somatotype was estimated by the Heath-Carter anthropometric technique1. The information included data of SES. A MANOVA test was used to test differences among groups. The mean somatotypes were 4.0–4.4–2.3 in males and 5.4 –3.4–2.2 in females. Sexual dimorphism for the whole somatotype was found (p