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    International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 29 (2002) 331341

    Anthropometric study of Algerian farmers

    M. Mokdad*

    Psychology Department, International Islamic University, Jalan Gombak, 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Received 7 June 2001; received in revised form 9 August 2001; accepted 17 November 2001

    Abstract

    An anthropometric study of Algerian date-palm farmers was carried out. Thirty-six body dimensions were measured.

    Mean, variation measures, percentiles, 4 indices, and correlation coefficients between body dimensions were calculated.

    Effects of age were studied. Data of Algerian farmers and farmers from both developed and developing countries are

    compared. Body dimensions results were presented in one table so that they can easily be used by designers. It has been

    found that both stature and weight correlated significantly with many body dimensions. In addition, age was found to

    affect body height and weight. Moreover, it was found that stature and weight have increased with time. These days

    farmers are taller and heavier than farmers of the 1960s. Algerian farmers are also taller and heavier than farmers of

    many developing countries. However, when Algerians are compared with the farmers of developed countries, they are

    shorter and lighter.

    Relevance to industry

    The physical dimensions of the workplace are very important because small changes can have a considerable impact

    on worker health, safety, and productivity. Therefore, this study was completed to provide anthropometric data that

    can be used to design or redesign agricultural machines, tools and equipment. Date-palm agriculture is still done

    traditionally in most of the date-palm producing countries. The introduction of ergonomically designed technology will

    improve the date-palm industry. r 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

    Keywords: Anthropometry; Date-palm farmers; Ideal body weight; Secular change; Developing countries

    1. Anthropometric study of Algerian farmers

    One of the important principles of ergonomics is

    that workplace dimensions should match the body

    dimensions of the expected users. A good match

    can be obtained if anthropometric data are

    applied. Incorrect workplace design where anthro-

    pometric data are ignored can cause psychological

    discomfort, physical fatigue and could be harmfuland damaging in the long term. Therefore,

    anthropometric data are an essential condition to

    the design of safe, comfortable and effective

    machines, tools and workplaces.

    In the developed countries, where ergonomic

    research and practice are widespread, structured

    and highly developed researchers have been

    collecting anthropometric data from different

    segments of the populations for a long time. The

    first systematic large-scale anthropometric studies*Corresponding author. Tel.: +603-2056-5111.

    E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Mokdad).

    0169-8141/02/$ - see front matter r 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

    PII: S 0 1 6 9 - 8 1 4 1 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 7 3 - 7

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    were started in the 1940s. On the other hand, in

    developing countries, where ergonomic thought as

    well as applications are unstructured and limited,

    anthropometric studies in general and anthropo-metric data of some segments of the population

    such as women, children and disabled people are

    very scarce if not available at all.

    In Algeria, there are about 7 million farmers

    (B23% of the whole Algerian population in 1998)

    involved in date-palm culture either directly or

    indirectly, of whom, B78% are in the private

    sector and B22% in the government sector. The

    anthropometric data of these farmers are needed

    for various purposes. The first of which is the

    design or redesign of agricultural equipment,

    workplaces, tools and clothing, so that efficient

    use with safety and comfort might be ensured. It is

    estimated that B55% of agricultural equipment

    and tools are imported and B45% are locally

    made (Biskra Governorate Department of Agri-

    culture, 1996). In addition, anthropometric data

    are necessary to describe the physical character-

    istics of the body of the Algerians. Anthropo-

    metric data are also needed to allow for

    comparisons with other populations to be made.

    This study aims, therefore, to provide anthro-

    pometric data which can be used in design orredesign, descriptions, comparisons, and evalua-

    tion purposes.

    2. Methods

    2.1. Subjects

    A sample of 514 male farmers engaged in field

    activities was randomly chosen from both private

    and government sectors and the four date-palmregions (Zeb, Souf, Touat and Hoggar). The

    distribution of the subjects among both the

    agricultural sector and the region can be seen in

    Table 1. It can be seen that B44% of the sample

    farmers were taken from Souf date-palm region

    because it is a very large area with the largest

    number of both farmers and date palms. The first

    contact with the farmers of each region was

    organized by the principal governorate depart-

    ment of agriculture of the region.

    2.2. Body dimensions

    Thirty-six body dimensions were chosen because

    it has been thought that they are useful for thedesign or redesign of agricultural equipment and

    tools. These measurements were 14 in standing

    position (6 heights, 1 breadth, 2 depths, 1 reach,

    handgrip force, triceps and sub-scapular skinfold

    thickness and weight) and 22 in sitting position (7

    heights, 3 breadths, 5 lengths, 2 reaches, 3 hand

    and 2 foot measurements). In addition, 4 other

    anthropometric indices were calculated. These

    were ideal body weight (IBW), body fat percen-

    tage, relative sitting height (RSH) and body

    surface area (BSA). Body dimensions, landmarks

    and the measurement of each body dimension

    procedures were defined by Frisancho (1993) and

    Pheasant (1997). All the measurements can be seen

    in Fig. 1ac.

    2.3. Equipment

    Body dimensions were taken with a Harpenden

    standard anthropometer (Holtain Ltd., UK).

    Hand and foot measurements were taken using

    sliding calipers. A squeeze dynamometer (Model78010 Lafayette Instrument Co.) was used to take

    the handgrip strength. Skinfold thickness was

    taken with a skinfold caliper which was calibrated

    to give a constant pressure of 10 g/mm2 over its

    entire operational range. In addition, a portable

    weighing scale accurate to +50 g was used to take

    the body weight. Finally, an adjustable swivel

    stool which can rotate on a pivot attached to a 4-

    star-welded steel base was used to take sitting

    Table 1

    The distribution of subjects among the date-palm regions and

    the agricultural sector

    Agricultural sector Agricultural region Total %

    Souf Zeb Touat Hoggar

    Private 198 123 51 29 401 78

    Government 28 57 17 11 113 22

    Total 226 180 68 40 514 100

    M. Mokdad / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 29 (2002) 331341332

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    Fig. 1.

    M. Mokdad / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 29 (2002) 331341 333

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    Table 2

    Anthropometric data of sample (n 514)

    Measurement Mean SD SEM CV (%) Min 1st 5th 50th 95th 99th Max

    Age 36 11.1 0.5 30.8 15 10 18 36 54 62 75

    Handgrip 38 8.7 0.4 22.4 11 18 25 38 53 58 73

    Weight 64 10.9 0.5 17.0 49 39 46 64 82 89 97

    Standing arm reach

    Maximum overhead 2074 89.4 3.9 4.3 1853 1866 1927 2074 2221 2282 2343

    Standing heights

    Stature 1726 76.0 3.4 4.0 1449 1549 1601 1726 1851 1903 1909

    Eye 1597 66.3 3.0 4.0 1168 1443 1488 1597 1706 1751 1873

    Shoulder 1446 67.1 2.9 4.7 893 1290 1335 1446 1556 1602 1787

    Elbow 1099 52.8 2.4 4.0 747 976 1012 1099 1185 1222 1550

    Knuckle 786 47.6 2.0 6.0 453 675 708 786 864 909 995

    Standing breadths

    Chest 264 6.1 0.8 6.0 182 226 238 264 291 302 415

    Standing depths

    Chest 217 19.0 0.9 8.7 159 173 186 217 248 261 350

    Waist 200 22.1 1.0 11.0 116 149 167 200 236 251 304

    Sitting arm reach

    Maximum overhead 1280 64.0 2.8 4.9 1094 1131 1175 1280 1385 1429 1628

    Maximum horizontal 884 64.1 2.8 7.2 710 735 779 884 989 950 1124

    Sitting heights

    Sitting 870 35.4 1.6 4.0 685 788 812 870 928 952 1069

    Cervical 689 34.2 1.5 4.9 573 653 633 689 745 835 873

    Eye 744 39.1 1.8 5.2 513 609 680 744 808 769 850

    Shoulder 609 37.2 1.6 6.1 411 522 548 609 670 696 743

    Knee 522 30.0 1.4 5.7 326 452 473 522 571 592 649

    Popliteal 422 30.0 1.4 7.0 244 342 373 422 441 492 494

    Elbow 191 24.0 1.0 12.5 105 135 152 191 230 247 335

    Thigh thickness 115 15.3 0.7 13.3 88 79 90 115 140 151 215

    Sitting lengths

    Buttockfoot 1041 48.4 2.2 4.6 697 928 962 1041 1120 1154 1163

    Buttockknee 574 38.4 1.7 6.6 363 485 511 574 637 663 840

    Buttockpopliteal 475 28.5 1.3 6.0 314 409 428 475 522 541 620

    Shoulderelbow 349 32.2 1.4 9.2 251 274 296 349 402 424 559

    Elbowfingertip 463 33.0 1.5 7.1 346 386 409 463 517 540 528

    Sitting breadths

    Shoulder 406 27.0 1.2 6.6 303 343 362 406 450 469 504

    Elbowelbow 430 38.0 1.7 8.8 326 341 368 430 492 519 730

    Hip 337 25.8 1.2 7.6 198 277 295 337 379 397 528

    Hand measurements

    Hand length 194 14.0 0.7 7.2 140 161 171 194 217 227 297

    Hand breadth 101 8.4 0.4 8.3 90 87 90 101 115 121 150

    Hand breadth metacarpa 82 4.0 0.2 4.8 88 73 75 82 89 91 101

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    dimensions. Both the Harpenden anthropometer

    and the skinfold caliper were periodically cali-

    brated against rules. However, the weighting scale

    and the squeeze dynamometer were calibrated

    against standard weights (5 and 10 kg), by putting

    the weights on the scale surface and hanging them

    to the internal grip of the dynamometer which was

    held vertical to a grooved surface.

    2.4. Procedures

    Both measuring postures were maintained

    throughout the whole survey as natural as possible

    according to Hertzberg (1968). To achieve a

    greater scientific uniformity, measurements were

    always carried out on the right-hand side of the

    subjects, to the nearest millimeter. In addition, all

    the measurements were taken in the mornings

    between 7 and 12 a.m. Except handgrip measure-

    ment, weight and skinfold thickness which weretaken twice (average recorded), all the remaining

    measurements were taken just once. The whole

    survey was carried out by a team of four members

    aged 2236 years. Before starting the survey, a

    training session of one week was provided in which

    theoretical and practical instructions were given.

    To ensure reliable measurements and recording, an

    inspection tour was randomly performed by the

    author. The whole survey was completed in a

    period of about one and a half months.

    3. Results and discussion

    Different statistical methods can be used in

    anthropometric studies. The choice of the statis-

    tical method depends to a great extent upon the

    nature of data and the purpose for which they are

    collected and presented. In this study, descriptive

    and inferential statistics have been used to make

    data suitable for design purposes and to study the

    differences which might exist between the studygroups. (See Appendix A for formula and refer-

    ences.) All the results are presented in Tables 25.

    Table 2 shows the mean, standard deviation

    (SD), standard error of mean (SEM), coefficient of

    variation (CV), 1st percentile, 5th percentile, 50th

    percentile, 95th percentile, 99th percentile, the

    maximum and the minimum values. Besides, it

    shows the 4 anthropometric indices results.

    It should be noted that body measurements were

    taken when the body was in a fixed (static)

    posture. Therefore, they should not be useddirectly in the design or redesign of equipment,

    tools, and workplaces as they require functional

    body dimensions which are more representative of

    human activities. To translate static body dimen-

    sions into dynamic ones, so that they can fit the

    dynamic characteristics of equipment, Kroemers

    suggestions (Kroemer, 1983) can be used. He

    suggested the following guidelines:

    (I) All heights are decreased by 0.3% of

    their values except elbow height which is

    Table 2 (continued)

    Measurement Mean SD SEM CV (%) Min 1st 5th 50th 95th 99th Max

    Foot measurements

    Foot length 254 15.4 0.7 6.0 210 218 229 254 279 290 297

    Foot breadth 95 7.7 0.4 8.1 95 87 82 95 108 123 136

    Skinfold thickness

    Triceps 0.8 5.2 0.3 66.0 0.3 0.0 0.6 0.8 17 20 31

    Sub-scapula 13 6.7 0.3 51.5 0.5 0.0 2.0 13 24 29 47

    Indices

    Quetelet index 21 2.0 0.1 9.6 19 17 18 21 25 26 27

    Body fat percentage 13 6.5 0.2 50.0 08 0.0 2.3 13 24 28 30

    RSH 0.504 0.0 0.0 0.9 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.504 0.6 0.6 0.6

    BSA (m2) 1.73 0.0 2.2 2.8 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.73 1.8 1.9 2.0

    NB: All measurements are in millimeters except handgrip and weight in kilograms and age in years.

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    increased by 0.5% of its value, and knee

    height which is left as it is (i.e., with no

    change).

    (II) Reaches, particularly forward reach, are

    decreased by 30%.

    (III) If extensive shoulder and trunk movements

    are involved, then reach is increased by20%.

    As concerns SEM results, it can be seen that

    standing heights and sitting arm reach dimensions

    had the highest SEM values (2.83.9). However,

    SEM of the other body dimensions are generally

    small (0.32.2). These results indicate that spread

    among the mean of the first set of dimensions

    (standing heights and sitting arm reach) is greater

    than spread among the means of the second set of

    dimensions. Therefore, design or redesign deci-sions where standing heights and sitting arm reach

    dimensions are used should be carefully made, as

    generalizations from the sample to the population

    could be difficult. A larger sample has to be

    studied, if correct judgments are to be made.

    As to the CV% results, it can be seen that the

    highest values are associated with skinfold thick-

    ness (66% and 51.5%), handgrip strength (22.4%)

    and weight (17%). These values highly exceeded

    the values of all other dimensions which are

    Table 3

    Anthropometric data of sample classified by age (mean values

    Measurement 25 and less

    (n 143)

    2645

    (n 230)

    Over 45

    (n 141)

    Age 22 40 60

    Handgrip 38 41 33

    Weight 61 68 62

    Standing arm reach

    Maximum overhead 2099 2072 2051

    Standing heights

    Stature 1757 1724 1697

    Eye 1640 1607 1544

    Shoulder 1490 1457 1391

    Elbow 1143 1118 1036

    Knuckle 835 807 718

    Standing breadths

    Chest 259 273 265

    Standing depths

    Chest 206 233 215

    Waist 180 198 221

    Sitting arm reach

    Maximum overhead 1293 1281 1266

    Maximum horizontal 894 883 875

    Sitting heights

    Sitting 885 871 854

    Cervical 710 696 662

    Eye 765 751 716

    Shoulder 630 616 580

    Knee 529 520 518

    Popliteal 429 421 419

    Elbow 197 190 187

    Thigh thickness 114 115 112

    Sitting lengths

    Buttockfoot 1052 1052 1019

    Buttockknee 579 573 570

    Buttockpopliteal 478 478 469

    Shoulderelbow 376 376 358Elbowfingertip 464 464 461

    Sitting breadths

    Shoulder 406 413 400

    Elbowelbow 416 452 430

    Hip 340 344 332

    Hand measurements

    Hand length 197 198 186

    Hand breadth 101 110 94

    Hand breadth metacarpa 80 82 81

    Table 3 (continued)

    Measurement 25 and less

    (n 143)

    2645

    (n 230)

    Over 45

    (n 141)

    Foot measurements

    Foot length 258 258 246

    Foot breadth 95 94 93

    Skinfold thickness

    Triceps 8 10 8

    Sub-scapula 12 15 13

    Indices

    Quetelet index 19.9 22.9 21.7

    Body fat percentage 12 14 12

    RSH 0.503 0.505 0.503

    BSA (m2) 1.73 1.81 1.71

    NB: All measurements are in millimeters except handgrip and

    weight in kilograms.

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    generally small. In addition, it can be seen that

    53% of the body dimensions are in the ranges

    suggested by Pheasant (1997). However, CV% of

    the other body dimensions particularly for some

    sitting heights, sitting lengths and some parts of

    the limbs are outside the suggested ranges. They

    seem to suggest that the sample of this study whichwas 0.008% of the whole population (about 7

    million agricultural workers) was not large enough

    to decrease CV values. In order to reduce CV%

    values, one has to increase the mean values which

    could be done by adding new observations to the

    sample. Increasing the sample mean will in turn

    cause CV to decrease.

    As related to the IBW; it can be seen that

    Quetelet index was 21.48 which means that

    Algerian farmers are normal, i.e., neither meager

    nor obese (see Appendix B). This result is slightlyconfirmed by body fat percentage results. Table 2

    shows that the mean body fat percentage of

    Algerian farmers is 13. According to Hoeger and

    Hoeger (1996), a good body fat percentage for the

    age group 3039 years, should be 1419. Values

    below this range indicate meagerness, whereas

    values above it indicate obesity. Therefore, the

    Algerian farmers can be considered as slightly

    meager on this body fat percentage scale. How-

    ever, when Demoulin and Chamla (1981) data

    were used, Algerian farmers were also found to be

    normal (Quetelet index was 21.19). Although both

    indices indicated that farmers were normal, it

    should be observed that Quetelet index has

    increased from 21.19% in 1966 to 21.48% in

    1998 confirming the idea of secular change that

    has been advocated by many research workerssuch as Tunner (1978) who has shown that in a

    period of about 80 years starting from about 1880

    most of the European countries as well as USA,

    Canada and Australia have seen this secular

    change. It was B10 mm per decade in adult

    stature. However, in the last few decades, this

    secular increase seemed to have leveled off, if not

    decreased in some counties. In Algeria, this secular

    change could be attributed to nutritional and

    health variables. As to nutrition, the policy that

    the Algerian government started in the 1980s andfor which the slogan towards a better life was

    advertised has played a great role in improving the

    life of Algerians. The majority of young people

    have access to good living facilities, which their

    parents could not have access to previously

    particularly during the French colonization era.

    One of the most important aspects of this policy

    was supporting the prices of all food items

    particularly the basic ones such as flour, meat,

    milk, oil, sugar and dry vegetables. The major

    Table 5

    Anthropometric dimensions and indices of farmers from different nationalities

    Source Nationality n Age (years) Stature (cm) Weight (kg) BSA (m2) Ratio

    Phillips (1954) Nigerians 7 29 163.4 54.7 1.583 0.028

    Manuba and Nala (1969) Indonesians 5 3560 161.6 54.8 1.571 0.028

    Kerana et al. (1997) Indonesians 6 3350 162.4 54.8 1.58 0.028

    Davies (1973) Tanzanians 78 27 165.9 62.2 1.690 0.027

    Spurr et al. (1975) Colombians 59 1856 163.8 58.6 1.633 0.027

    Davies et al. (1975) Sudanese 165 26 173.2 54.8 1.652 0.030

    Maksud et al. (1976) Colombians 55 29 163.0 57.8 1.618 0.027

    Maksud et al. (1976) Mexicans 15 22 166.7 71.0 1.794 0.025

    Collins et al. (1976) Sudanese 53 26 173.3 58.6 1.701 0.029

    Sen et al. (1977) Indians 192 21 161.5 45.9 1.457 0.031

    Demoulin and Chamla (1981) Algerians 384 2076 167.0 59.1 1.662 0.028

    Pfeiffer et al. (1984) Canadians 105 48 174.4 80.2 1.953 0.024

    Donati et al. (1984) English 6 42 180.0 76.5 1.958 0.025

    Smith et al. (1986) Canadians 12 28 175.4 73.5 1.889 0.025Intaranont et al. (1988) Thai 100 2049 162.8 55.2 1.585 0.028

    This study Algerians 514 36 172.6 64.0 1.760 0.027

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    result of this policy was that many Algerians were

    able to have daily a well-balanced calorie intake

    where the percentage of protein particularly from

    animal sources has dramatically increased. Asconcerns health facilities, the policy of free

    medicine, the government started in the early

    1970s which increased the number of hospitals,

    clinics, and doctors (either by local training or

    through foreign cooperation), supplied free med-

    icine to the poor and the needy, and supported the

    prices of all types of medicaments, has played a

    great role in the improvement of life of the

    Algerians.

    As to the RSH;it can be seen that Algerians had

    a ratio of 0.504. According to Pheasant (1997),

    when RSH is large (B0.55), the sample is short-

    legged. But if it is small (B0.50), the sample is

    long-legged. Therefore, Algerian farmers can be

    considered as a long-legged sample, similar to

    Black Africans who have proportionally longer

    lower limbs. On the other hand, Algerian farmers

    are clearly different from Europeans with an RSH

    of B0.52 and far Easterners with an RSH of

    B0.54 (Pheasant, 1997).

    Table 3 shows anthropometric data classified on

    the basis of age. This classification revealed that

    there are clear differences between the three groups(25 years and less, 2645 years and over 45 years)

    of the study. The means of stature for the young,

    middle-aged, and old subjects were 1757, 1724 and

    1697 mm, respectively. However, the means of

    weight for the young, middle-aged and old subjects

    were 61, 68 and 62 kg, respectively.F test (2, 511)

    shows that older people (over 45 years) are

    significantly shorter (po0:01) but not significantly

    (p >0:05) heavier than young people. Moreover,

    F test shows that young people (o25 years) are

    significantly smaller (po0:01) than old people inwaist depth. However, in other body dimensions,

    the old people are generally smaller than both the

    young and the middle-aged. These differences

    confirm the secular change hypothesis mentioned

    above.

    Table 4 shows the correlation coefficients

    between different anthropometric dimensions.

    These coefficients were calculated to see to what

    extent these dimensions are related to each other

    and to what extent equipment design decisions

    could be based on such correlations. All

    coefficients of correlation which are >0.19 are

    significant at the 0.05 level. Stature, as can be seen

    in Table 4, correlated significantly with all thestanding and sitting heights, sitting lengths and

    hand and foot measurements. Similarly, weight

    correlated significantly with body breadths,

    depths, some sitting heights, hand and foot

    measurements and skinfold thickness. In the case

    of predicting body dimensions, only the predicted

    values for eye height, shoulder height, elbow

    height, buttockknee length, knee height, popliteal

    height, elbowhand length and hand length from

    stature, and for waist depth, elbow-to-elbow

    breadth, hip breadth and sub-scapular skinfold

    from weight could be accurately used for design

    purposes as their coefficient of determination (r2)

    is equal to or higher than 0.70.

    Table 5 presents anthropometric dimensions of

    farmers from different nationalities. Comparisons

    of the present study results with results from other

    national and international studies have been

    carried out. First, it can be seen that both stature

    and weight of Algerians have increased. In 1966,

    they were 167 cm and 59.1 kg, respectively (De-

    moulin and Chamla, 1981). However, in this

    study, they are 172.6 cm and 64 kg, respectively.Second, it can also be seen that Algerian farmers

    are taller and heavier than farmers in many

    developing countries which have been considered

    in this study. This conclusion should not be

    regarded as completely true as results from

    developing countries are slightly outdated. They

    were published in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and

    1980s. Secular change could also be a character-

    istic of many developing countries. The evidences

    cited by Roche (1979) that in many developed and

    developing countries including India there exists asecular decrease, do not fit well with the develop-

    ing countries agricultural workers and farmers

    who have just started enjoying good life environ-

    ment. What Roche mentioned could be a char-

    acteristic of high-class individuals who had been

    enjoying adequate life facilities for many years.

    Third, it is also seen that the Algerians are both

    lighter and shorter than farmers from developed

    countries. Although the sample of farmers from

    developed countries is very small (farmers from

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    Britain and Canada only), it is to a certain extent

    representative of the farmers of other developed

    countries. Many researchers have found that

    developed countries populations are larger andheavier than populations in developing countries.

    (Roberts, 1975; Abeysekera and Shahnawaz,

    1989). These results will presumably help all the

    authorities who are responsible for both the

    development and transfer of technology to agri-

    cultural sector. It has been already mentioned that

    in Algeria B45% of agricultural equipment is

    locally made, and B55% is transferred from

    developed countries. The technology that is

    transferred from developed countries is not going

    to automatically fit the Algerians, because it has

    not been designed for them. The misfit will be

    unavoidable, and it will cause not only quick and

    short-term effects, but, in the long term, it will also

    have negative consequences on both farmers and

    agriculture.

    In addition, it shows the ratio of BSA to body

    mass of farmers from different nationalities. It can

    be seen that values range from 0.024 (the smallest

    value) to 0.031 (the highest value), the mean and

    SD being 0.027 and 0.002, respectively. In addi-

    tion, it can be observed that the Canadians, the

    English and the Mexicans obtain the smallestvalues. However, the values of the other nation-

    alities are generally high. These results confirm the

    rule of Bergmann which states that the body size

    of varieties increases with decreasing mean tem-

    perature of the habitat (Ciochon and Fleagle,

    1993). Therefore, a small ratio is to be found in

    cold and moderate areas of the globe (Earth),

    whereas high ratio is found in hot and warm areas.

    A large body size helps the creature maintain the

    body heat, while a small size helps to dissipate

    body heat. The majority of developing countriesconsidered in this study are found in hot and warm

    areas. On the other hand, the farmers of developed

    countries of this study live in cold and moderate

    environments.

    4. Uncited references

    Davies et al., 1976; Suyasning et al., 1997.

    Appendix A. Formulae used in this study

    (1) SEM=SD/square root of sample size.

    (2) CV=SD/mean 100 (Pheasant, 1997).

    (3) RSH=sitting height/stature (Frisancho,

    1993).

    (4) Percentage of body fat=skinfold measure-

    ments taken at two body sites: triceps and

    sub-scapular. Body fat%=[(4.95/

    density)4.50] 100 (Frisancho, 1993).

    (5) IBW: Quetelet index=weight (kg)/height 2

    (m) (Frisancho, 1993).

    Quetelet index range Classificationo20.00 Underweight

    20.0024.9 Normal

    25.0029.9 Overweight

    30.0034.9 Moderate obesity

    40.00 and over Severe obesity

    (6) BSA=weight 0.425 height 0.725-

    0.425height 0.725 0.007184 (DuBois

    and DuBois, 1916).

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