ANTHROPOMETRY DIMENSIONS AND PROTECTIVE WEARS FOR FOOT AND HEAD: A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED POLYTECHNIC STUDENTS IN THE SOUTH ZONE OF NIGERIA

Abstract

Human body compositions change with age and other related factors, and as such the anthropometric
dimensions developed from one region may not be appropriate to be used when designing machines and
fittings for people living in another region. This study presents the anthropometric data of Nigerian
polytechnic students, which helps to develop and modify foot-and-head protective wears suitable for the
people of the region. Eight anthropometric data useful for the design of foot-and-head protective were
selected and measured from 800(400 male and 400 female) subjects within the age of 18-30 years. Data
obtained was analyzed using independent samples T-test by SPSS (version 18.0). The measurements were
compared between two genders and among other ethnic populations of the world. The results showed that
male were larger in all the mean dimensions and significant difference was only noticed on foot length
dimension for both genders at (p>0.05). The results also indicate differences among various foot-and head
dimensions while comparing with other ethnic populations of the world. It is recommended that the
study should be extended to different tertiary institutions in our country in order to generate design
database for efficient production of foot-and-head facilities and fittings for Nigerian polytechnic students.