Defining a particular aim for kinanthropometry is central for its
full understanding. Ross et al. (1972) said “K is a scientific
discipline that studies the body size, the proportionality, the
performance of movement, the body composition and principal functions of
the body. This so well cited definition is not completely exact as the
last four words show. What are the kinanthropometric methods that truly
tell us something about principal functions of the body? In principle an
amount or distribution of fat mass or muscular mass could be correlated
or show a level of causation with any disease. The morpho-physiological
mechanisms involved in those explanations are big enigmas today. Few
diseases are in practice diagnosed using anthropometric measures and
body composition methods at any public health care system. The use of
body composition outcomes for predicting health status due to their
associations with a lot of physiological variables is valid. However,
this purpose is not included within the kinanthropometric perspective
because the absent of movement prediction's probability in those
diagnoses. The countless uses of some of its fundamental methods have to
be accepted but they should not change the theoretical core of the
scientific discipline. On the other hand, this definition omits some
important objectives of quantifying the body that are an indelible part
of its frame; for example: the study of human shape using the method of
the anthropometric somatotype of Carter and Heath (1990). Besides that,
the performance of movement is why one studies the body size,
proportionality, body composition, and human shape. It is confusing to
write at the same level the performance of movement because then one
never clearly portrays the purpose of the discipline, meaning that a
descriptive knowledge of the body is the sole purpose while you are
mixing the real scope in the statement.
Stewart (2010) defined kinanthropometry as "The academic discipline that involves the use of anthropometric measures in relation to other scientific parameters and/or thematic areas such as human movement, physiology or applied health sciences".
For Betancourt (2009), kinanthropometry is a scientific discipline of biomechanics that can be defined as: the set of theoretical assumptions that explain the relationships between the morpho-functional structure of healthy individuals and their biological potentiality of performing an efficient motion in an ontogenic moment.
Stewart (2010) defined kinanthropometry as "The academic discipline that involves the use of anthropometric measures in relation to other scientific parameters and/or thematic areas such as human movement, physiology or applied health sciences".
For Betancourt (2009), kinanthropometry is a scientific discipline of biomechanics that can be defined as: the set of theoretical assumptions that explain the relationships between the morpho-functional structure of healthy individuals and their biological potentiality of performing an efficient motion in an ontogenic moment.