Zahi Andraos; Myriam Dagher; Charbel Richa & Milivoj Dopsaj

This study aims to investigate body typologies based on a combination of basic anthropo-morphological characteristics and body composition measured by multichannel bioimpedance in a sample from the adult population of Lebanon. A total of 302 subjects (173 males and 129 females) without acute or chronic health disorders were included in the study. Body composition was measured by the multichannel bioelectrical impedance (BIA) method, using the i30 device (MEDIANA, Korea). The research used 10 variables, including three basic anthropo-morphological variables, three for assessing fat, three for assessing the muscle component, and one index variable. K-means cluster analysis was used to define five specific clusters (5D) of body types based on sex. In light of the results, the study established five distinct clusters representing five different body typologies among Lebanese adults, categorized by sex: Male sample, Group 1 – Obese Endomorph (15.61 %), Group 2 – Balanced Mesomorph (16.76 %), Group 3 – Short Endomorph (30.06 %), Group 4 – Short Mesomorph (34.10 %), and Group 5 – Pathological Obese Endomorph (3.47 %); Female sample, Group 1– Obese Endomorph (2.33 %), Group 2 – Short Endo/Mesomorph (28.68 %), Group 3 – Short Ectomorph (32.56 %), Group 4 – Endomorph (22.48 %), and Group 5 – Balanced Mesomorph (13.95 %). Furthermore, the results indicated that the primary factor contributing to the distinctions among the identified clusters in terms of sex is fat tissue. This leads to the conclusion that eating habits cause the given differences, rather than the level of physical activity, regardless of sex.

KEY WORDS: Body composition; Adults; Muscle mass; Body fat; BIA.

ANDRAOS, Z.; DAGHER, M.; RICHA, C. & DOPSAJ, M. Body typology of Lebanese adults: Initial cluster cross-selection study. Int. J. Morphol., 42(3):561-566, 2024.