Body Build Types

How CIVILIAN, ATHLETIC, and OVERWEIGHT morphological presets shift soft-tissue predictions before inference runs — and when to use each.

body_build_type is a pre-inference morphological preset that adjusts soft-tissue dimension predictions to match a target population profile. It applies before the prediction engine runs — not as a post-processing scale — so the effect propagates correctly through all derived dimensions.

Set it inside output_settings.calculation:

"output_settings": {
  "calculation": {
    "body_build_type": "CIVILIAN"
  }
}

CIVILIAN is the default when the field is omitted.

Available presets

Type	Population source	Primary effect	Typical use case
`CIVILIAN`	NHANES general population	BMI-stratified circumference morphing	E-commerce, general public
`ATHLETIC`	ANSUR II military baseline	Lean profile, reduced soft-tissue shift	Sportswear, uniforms, PPE
`OVERWEIGHT`	NHANES BMI-adjusted upper cohort	Amplified circumference morphing for BMI > 27.5	Plus-size fashion, protective equipment

What each preset does

CIVILIAN

Applies the full NHANES body composition distribution. For a given height and weight, NHANES population data determines the expected fat-to-lean ratio and soft-tissue distribution. This is the most representative preset for a general consumer population.

Chest, waist, hip, and other circumference predictions are modulated by BMI tier using NHANES cohort medians. Skeletal (BONE) dimensions are unaffected.

ATHLETIC

Bypasses NHANES soft-tissue morphing. Predictions stay closer to the ANSUR II military baseline — a lean, trained population with below-average body fat percentage for any given BMI.

Use ATHLETIC when your end users are sportswear customers, military or law enforcement personnel, or any population where a lean body composition at a given weight is expected. For a 180 cm / 75 kg male, ATHLETIC will return noticeably smaller waist and hip circumferences than CIVILIAN.

OVERWEIGHT

Amplifies circumference predictions for subjects with BMI > 27.5 using NHANES BMI-stratified morphing curves calibrated to the upper BMI distribution rather than the median.

Use OVERWEIGHT when serving plus-size fashion, broader-fit workwear, or industrial PPE where higher circumference-to-height ratios are expected. Below BMI 27.5 it behaves identically to CIVILIAN.

Which dimensions are affected

Dimension type	Affected?	Why
BONE (skeletal lengths, heights, breadths)	No	Structurally fixed — bone geometry doesn’t change with body composition
FLESH (circumferences, surface contours)	Yes	Soft-tissue morphing applies here
COMPOSITE (derived ratios, composition estimates)	Partially	Depends on whether FLESH components are inputs to the composite

Dimensions such as stature, arm_length, and foot_length are identical across all three presets for the same input. chest_circumference, waist_circumference, and hip_circumference will differ between presets — sometimes significantly.

Interaction with regional calibration

body_build_type stacks additively on top of regional calibration. Regional shift is applied first, then body build morphing is applied to the regionally calibrated output:

"output_settings": {
  "calculation": {
    "target_region": "EUROPE",
    "body_build_type": "ATHLETIC"
  }
}

This produces European-proportioned predictions with an athletic lean profile. The two modifiers are independent and do not interfere with each other.

Supplying `body_mass` for best results

body_build_type is most effective when body_mass is supplied as an anchor. Without weight, the engine cannot determine BMI and must infer body composition from height alone — reducing soft-tissue accuracy regardless of preset.

For CIVILIAN and OVERWEIGHT: supply both body_height and body_mass whenever available.
For ATHLETIC: body_height alone is often sufficient, since the lean baseline is less BMI-sensitive.

"anchors": {
  "body_height": 1820,
  "body_mass": 88
}