Actualization of V.P. Chtetsov's constitutional scheme for determining somatotypes in 17-19-year-old men and women taking into account secular changes in body size of the modern population
Authors:   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Anthropology, Leninskie Gory, 1(12), Moscow, 119234, Russia, Ivanova Elena A. , Negasheva Marina A. ,   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Anthropology, Leninskie Gory, 1(12), Moscow, 119234, Russia, Sineva Irina M. ,   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Biology, Department of Anthropology, Leninskie Gory, 1(12), Moscow, 119234, Russia
Published: October 2023

Introduction. Against the background of the secular trend, which many authors note all over the world, researchers are faced with a methodological problem consisting in the choice of a constitutional scheme for assessing the type of physique. Until the early 2000s, V.P. Chtetsov's somatotypological scheme was widely used in our country, which has now lost its relevance due to the processes of secular trend. The aim of this study is to update the assessment tables in V.P. Chtetsov's constitutional scheme and to actualise the application of this scheme for the assessment of somatotypes in modern youth (aged 17–19 years). Materials and methods. The study is based on the materials obtained during the annual anthropometric monitoring of Moscow student youth in 2000-2023 (number of samples: 3026 women and 3452 men; measurement of more than 20 physique indices). Results. The updated normative tables for V.P. Chtetsov's constitutional scheme, calculated on the basis of anthropometric survey materials of more than 6400 people, are presented. Not only mean values and values of standard deviations have been updated in accordance with modern data, but also the general appearance of the tables (the boundaries of intervals for conversion of measuring features into points are presented) for easy reading of information. Discussion. When comparing the initial evaluation tables of V.P. Chtetsov's scheme with the updated ones, the main tendencies of the secular trend are observed: the modern youth clearly show a significant increase in longitudinal skeletal dimensions and a slight decrease in transverse skeletal dimensions, as well as a decrease in muscle mass and an increase in the fat component of the physique in comparison with the surveyed sample of the early 70s of the last century. A comparative analysis of the distribution of different variants of somatotypes of girls and boys, determined according to the original tables of V.P. Chtetsov's scheme and according to the updated tables of the same scheme, has been carried out. The distribution based on the updated normative tables objectively reflects the variability of body features and the distribution of somatotypes in modern youth. Conclusion. The obtained results are of practical importance, as new estimation tables for determining somatotypes (in this study for men and women aged 17–19) according to the constitutional scheme of V.P. Chtetsov, taking into account secular changes in body size in the modern population, are introduced into academic turnover. @ 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license