Body talk

Anthropometrica. A textbook of body measurements for sport and health courses. Kevin Norton, Tim Olds, editors. Sydney: University of NSW Press 1996 (xi + 411 pp.) ISBN: 0 86840 2230.

Anthropometry is becoming ever more widely used in the fields of physical education and fitness training, public health nutrition, and clinical medicine. It has long been a mainstay in child health programs in developing countries and in assessing growth and development worldwide. This Australian book aims to develop a thorough understanding of the basis, methodology and interpretation of physical measurement of adults and will be a valuable reference for those in the field. The application of anthropometry to body composition, especially fatness assessment, is clear and helpful to practitioners, and there are interesting and important chapters on the psychology and anthropometry of body image, and on anthropometry in workplace design - all emerging areas for anthropometry. It is less directed to clinicians who encounter complex body compositional changes, for example in older people with multiple disease states such as cardiac decompensation and renal impairment. While the authors are mostly Australian, the distinguished American anthropometrist Steve Heymsfield also makes a contribution. This book is a refreshing addition to the Australian health publication scene. Mark L Wahlqvist Professor of Medicine, Monash University Melbourne, VIC