History of occupational kineanthropometry in Cuba, current situation and perspectives

Introduction: Occupational kinanthropometry is a specialized branch of kinanthropometry, which allows evaluations to be made with body measurements, on the body characteristics of the worker in relation to the physical activity that he/she performs. Objective: To describe the use of kineanthropometry in Cuba for the evaluation of occupational health and safety. Development: 64 articles related to occupational kinanthropometry were reviewed. Of these, 48 related to the history of anthropometry and other theoretical aspects related to this science were evaluated and referenced. Eleven nutritional, morphological and ergonomic evaluations of Cuban workers were taken into account. It was found that the use of anthropometric data in occupational health around the world has been fundamentally oriented towards making physical ergonomic determinations, to the detriment of other evaluations of body structure, composition and constitution. In Cuba, this type of study has been carried out in limited groups of workers, based on clinical-sports or ergonomic criteria and the absence of occupational variables. Conclusions: Occupational kinanthropometry contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between the worker's body measurements and the work activity performed. The generalization in Cuba of a holistic approach in the nutritional and morphological kinanthropometric evaluation of the worker can contribute to improving clinical, epidemiological and ergonomic assessments with minimally invasive, accessible and economical techniques, promoting safety, health, and greater labor productivity with a preventive vision.