Anthropometric Data of Primary School Children in Malaysia for School Chair Design Hanani Yuhaniz 1* , Asnawi Seraila 2 , Siti Rafedah Abdul Karim 2 , Suhaimi Muhammed 2 , and Abdul Hamid Saleh 3 1 Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia hananiyuhaniz@gmail.com 2 Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia nawiseraila@gmail.com; srafidah@salam.uitm.edu.my; prof.suhaimi@gmail.com 3 Forest Products Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Malaysia hamid@frim.gov.my * Corresponding author Abstract: Anthropometrics data of Malaysian Primary school children are yet to be compiled and used for producing ergonomic school furniture. In this study, anthropometrics data of six body dimensions were collected, these are hip width, shoulder breadth, sitting subscapular height, sitting shoulder, buttock popliteal length and popliteal height. The objectives were to proposed dimensions to develop an ergonomic school chair design. A custom made measurer were used to measure samples of 2400 school children across four states in Malaysia which include Perak, Pahang, Selangor and Johor and consists of students aged 7 to 11 years old. The 5 th and 95 th percentiles were used and data were evaluated using SPSS. The proposed chair dimensions were discussed in relation to previous school chair design where results revealed the need in having new chair dimensions that follows Malaysian children’s anthropometry. Keywords: Anthropomerics, Children, Ergonomics, Introduction Anthropomoetrics which means body measurements is a factor that needs to be fulfilled when designing ergonomic compliance furniture. Ergonomics can be termed as a scientific discipline concerned with understanding of the interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design, in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance (Dul & Weerdmeester, 2008). Ergonomics in Malaysia is not entirely new, but it is still a subject that is still in its development phase where ergonomics applications can be seen adapted in workplaces such as in the factory and offices. Furthermore, studies on ergonomics are increasing, making it a widely acceptance matter throuhougt the country. However, the application of ergonomics towards children were not concentrated as database of the children was still not complied and applied. The objectives of this study was to evaluate current school chair and proposing new dimensions to achieve ergonomic compliance school chair. The majority of children in Malaysia spend their time in schools, making them prone to disorders such as back pain, neck pain and other musculoskeletal disorders due to its long period of sitting in class. In the classroom, children are reported to sit in a poor position where often, their chest, back and neck flexed or rotated for a long time (Murphy, Buckle, & Stubbs, 2004). According to a 2009 study on musculoskeletal disorder among primary school children in Malaysia, it is found that 31.82% of 2 nd grade and 62.2% of 5 th grade students experience upper MSD (Syazwan Aizat Ismail, Shamsul Bahri Mohd Tamrin, & Hashim, 2009). Also reported in a study by Nurul Asyiqin Mohd Ali et al. (2009), 32% of students aged seven to nine year olds mostly suffers knee leg pain and as for 10 to 12 year olds, 35% of them experienced neck pain. Despite of these reports, school furniture are yet to be reevaluated and redesigned. Mismatches of furniture were also found in numerous studies throughout the world. In Greece, mismatches of chairs having to be higher and too deep for children (Panagiotopoulou, Christoulas, Papanckolaou, & Mandroukas, 2004) were reported, also in the USA, a study by Parcells, Stommell, and Hubbard (1999), 65% of students had seats that were also too high and too deep. Meanwhile, in