Anthropometrics for the design of Bahraini school furniture q M. Mokdad a, * , M. Al-Ansari b a Department of Psychology, College of Education, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Bahrain b Department of Physical Education, College of Education, University of Bahrain, Sakhir, Bahrain article info Article history: Received 5 February 2008 Received in revised form 20 January 2009 Accepted 16 February 2009 Available online 14 March 2009 Keywords: Anthropometry Anthropometric data School furniture Primary schoolchildren Bahrain abstract This paper presents the results of an anthropometric survey carried out on a sample of male and female Bahraini school children aged 6–12 years (N ¼ 1174), to throw some light on the anthropometric parameters of Bahraini students in order to provide school furniture designers and importers with relevant data. A set of 44 body dimensions covering most body parts were measured, from which six body dimensions relevant to school furniture design were considered. Results show a gradual increase from age 6 to age 12 in all body dimensions. When compared with children from other nationalities, Bahraini children were almost all of medium height and weight. This paper also shows how the results can be used in school furniture design. Relevance to industry: The 21st century has seen a lot of interest in children, especially school children as it is well known that many postural problems, such as back pain and repetitive strain injuries, start at an early age. Therefore, ergonomics design for children is as important as designing for adults. Anthropo- metric data are essential for this design. Ó 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Ergonomics aims to design work and environment for people, so that they can work easily, effectively and safely. In the beginning, i.e. in the 1950s, ergonomics was a military concern, but starting from the 1960s it was widely applied in the industrial, agricultural, and service sectors. Education as part of the service sector has also been a concern for ergonomists since the seventies, and various models concerning its application have been published. According to Kao’s model (Kao, 1976), the components that should be considered by educational ergonomists are learning ergonomics, instructional ergonomics, ergonomics of educational facilities, ergonomics of educational equipment and the ergonomics of educational environment. Although it was suggested as early as the 1970s, it is an extensive and comprehensive model. To achieve its aims, ergonomics uses various tools and tech- niques, of which anthropometry is the oldest. Moreover, anthro- pometric measurements are essential as basic descriptive information on body composition and nutritional status. They are linked to energy intake, physical activity, energy metabolism and metabolic efficiency. The incidence of chronic disease may be related to anthropometric patterns; e.g., obesity has been iden- tified as a risk factor for coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and particular cancer sites. The ratio between circum- ferences of waist and hip was found to be associated with elevated risk for heart disease (Gillum, 1987; Taylor et al., 2000). Through anthropometry, ergonomics collects information about people so that work, machines, tools and environment are fitted to humans. Since its emergence at the end of the 1940s, various sections of the population (i.e. military men, industrial workers, women, the elderly, and agricultural workers) have been anthropometrically studied both in developed as well as devel- oping countries. However, it is important to stress that while considering developing countries, two observations are to be drawn. These are: 1. Anthropometric surveys that have been carried out in these countries are not extensive. Some sections of the population (e.g. women, children) have not been studied extensively, either due to social and traditional factors, or due to neglect. 2. Some anthropometric studies have been carried out in the early years of ergonomics. Knowing that people in developing countries are witnessing a secular change due to improved nutritional programs and good health and social and security practices, it is possible to think that old anthropometric results are not relevant, and should be re-evaluated. q The authors would like to thank the Deanship of Scientific Research who sponsored this research. * Corresponding author. Tel.\fax: þ973 17 64 29 36. E-mail address: mokdad@hotmail.com (M. Mokdad). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ergon 0169-8141/$ – see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ergon.2009.02.006 International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 39 (2009) 728–735