Comparación estadística de medidas antropométricas entre mestizos, indígenas y afro ecuatorianos de la Región Sierra del Ecuador

The primary purpose of the present study was to determine whether anthropometric difference exists between three ethnic groups of the highland region of Ecuador. Research shows that anthropometric data used in the design of products and workplaces should represent the anthropometric characteristics of the potential users. However, there was no anthropometric data available on the Ecuadorian ethnic populations and it was not known whether a particular ethnic anthropometric database could be used to the design for the other ethnic populations. For this study, 13 anthropometric measurements were collected from men and women of the central Sierra region of Ecuador; 639 Mestizos, 99 Indigenous and 30 Afro-Ecuadorians. Specifically, data was collected from the provinces of Pichincha, Tungurahua, Chimborazo and Imbabura, due to the highest percentage of self-identified persons as Mestizo, Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorians. A statistical analysis was performed to compare the measures according to gender and ethnic self-identification. Anthropometric tables were generated for 5, 50 and 95 percentiles of each ethnic group. This study found statistical difference between most of the anthropometric measurements of the three ethnic groups. Additionally performed between samples obtained combinations resulting in normal populations, for which two statistical methods recommended for percentiles and parameters of these populations. The results of the conducted study indicate that it is primarily important to consider the anthropometric difference of Mestizos, Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorians in order to design ergonomically products and workplaces. The appropriate use of anthropometric data of Ecuadorians will help in the design of comfortable and safe workstations for the population.