No abstract

Since the entry of female troops in different paramilitary forces, there is a dearth of well-fitted personal protective gear for them to maximise operational safety and protection. A mismatch of anthropometry in design adversely affected the user’s performance during critical operation, compromising the safety and well-being of an individual. A detailed anthropometry-based sizing study was conducted by the research team, on the Indian female paramilitary troops for proper sizing of their protective gears and ensembles. An anthropometric survey of 325 female para-military troops, posted in two locations with age ranged from 21 to 54 years (mean ± SD) value: 37.14 ± 8.49 years was done. Each subject’s 28 different body dimensions were taken. The data was then investigated using the factor analysis method. Principal component analysis technique was used to reduce the variables to similar factor components where, two components with an Eigenvalue of more than 1 were selected. viz. Principal component 1 (girth dimensions) and Principal component 2 (abdomen or waist dimension). These two key variables were used to divide the population into three separate clusters using the K-means cluster method. These cluster groups were validated using a regression tree. Descriptive statistical analysis of data was conducted followed by Cluster analysis (of key components shortlisted) using Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) version 21. The current study was the first complete anthropometric survey of Indian female paramilitary personnel for the development of a female-specific sizing system for a full-body protector (FBP) design resulting is an improved fit of full-body protector.

Background: Stature estimation from body measurements is an important part of forensic and medico-legal cases especially in victim identifcation, where mutilated and amputated body parts are encountered at the crime scene. Hand and foot dimensions are the important features in context of stature estimation. The present study was conducted to find out the correlation of length and breadth of hand and foot in the stature of the North Indians. Methods: Anthropometric data from 413 males and 413 females were collected. Simple and multiple linear regression methods were used for estimation of stature from hand length, hand breadth, foot length and foot breadth measurements. Results: Statistically signifcant results (p <0.001) are obtained with each measurement when the derived model is tested for stature estimation. Hand length in both sexes showed highest correlation with the stature whereas foot breadth showed the lowest. Multiple regression models showed low standard error of estimate (SEE). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that, from a forensic stand point, measurements of the hands and feet may be employed to estimate the stature of North Indian populations.