yes, therapy helps!
The 7 body types (or somatotypes): what are they?

The 7 body types (or somatotypes): what are they?

February 29, 2024

The concept of somatotype or somatic type is well known within the world of physical exercise and nutrition , but also within psychology.

The concept was developed by the psychologist William Herbert Sheldon in the 1940s. However, his predecessor was Ernst Kretschmer who tried to relate the biotype and psychotype of individuals, that is, investigated and claimed to find connections between body composition and temperament .

Like any morphopsychological theory, Kretschmer's theory received many criticisms . However, Sheldon's somatotypes are still very popular today, especially in the fields of sports and nutrition.


  • Related article: "Morphopsychology: your facial features ... indicate your personality?"

The biotypes (body types) of Kretschmer

In the 1920s, Kretschmer, a German psychiatrist, decided to study and investigate the relationships that may exist between morphological structure and human temperament. As a sample for his studies, he chose mental patients with different pathologies: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder ...

With the results he obtained, he established three types of basic body constitutions, and one that represented mixed and disproportionate groups. They are the following:

  • Leptosomatic or asthenic
  • Athletic or epileptoid
  • Pythonic or cyclothymic
  • Displásticos

1. Leptosomatic or asthenic

These people have a slender body of shoulders, they are tall, with a narrow thorax, elongated face and nose and domed skull. They have an introverted personality, with difficulties of adaptation. They are sentimental, speculative individuals with an interest in art.


According to the author, they have a schizophrenic temperament, and their character oscillates between hypersensitivity and coldness. These people are more likely to suffer from a serious mental disorder called schizophrenia.

2. Athletic or epileptoid

Epileptoid individuals have a strong body in both the musculature and bones . They are more energetic and aggressive. Due to their robustness, they are strong, determined, adventurous and stand out for being quite passionate and sentimental, but also gross. They are impulsive and prone to epilepsy.

3. Pycnico or cyclothymic

These are people, who are short in size but very robust, have a rounded body , with voluminous and greasy viscera. They can be bald, with little muscle development. They are intelligent people, with a cheerful and jovial character. They present oscillations in their mood, because they can go from being very excited and happy to sad and decayed. Picnic individuals have little constant in their activities, and can be both optimistic and pessimistic. These people are more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder.


  • Related article: "Cyclothymia: the mild version of Bipolar Disorder"

4. Displastic

These individuals have a disproportionate body and do not fall into any of the above categories . On the psychological level, these subjects do not have a defined character, but within this group it is possible to find people with a weak or schizoid character.

Criticisms to the Kretschmer Theory

Although Kretschmer inspired other authors such as Sheldon, this typology has received strong criticism. Many of which indicate that:

  • The types are extreme and not averages.
  • Being extreme, they divide individuals drastically and forget many individual differences
  • It does not take into account the physical changes that can occur due to the change in diet
  • His research is biased, since he used sick subjects and not normal individuals.

Somatotypes of Sheldon

Unlike the previous author, Sheldon conducted his research with normal subjects. This author was a professor at Harvard University. He began his research in 1928 and published the results in 1940. He used more than 4,000 male students, and then conducted his research with women.

The idea of ​​Sheldon was different from that of Kretschmer, he first investigated somatotypes and, separately, sought to find out the correlation of these with personality traits and temperament , which according to him are the following: viscerotonía, somatotonía and cerebrotonía. Their results indicate that in 80% of cases there is a correlation between endomorphism and viscerotonia, between mesomorphism and somatotonia, and between ectomorphism and cerebrotonia.

Next, we delve into Sheldon's somatotypes.

1. Ectomorph

It's about tall, thin and weak people . That is, they are individuals with few muscles and bones relatively lighter than the other body types.The ectomorphs are easy to detect because they are thin, their limbs are long and tend to be tall. They rarely gain weight. As for the personality, they are emotionally sensitive people, who can suffer emotional problems and mood swings easily.

2. Endomorph

The body of the endomorph is rounded and its main characteristic is people who have a natural tendency to accumulate fat in the abdomen in the case of men and in the hips in the case of women . The endomorph is very sociable by nature, fun, relaxed and good-natured. They love food and usually provide great company.

3. Mesomorph

The mesomorph is the most balanced of the three somatotypes because your body is made up of a balanced combination of muscles and bones . These individuals have an athletic shape, with well-defined muscles and bones provided. They have a low size but a sturdy build. As for the personality, the mesomorph is balanced, very energetic, likes sports and adventures and has no problems in doing physical activities. The mesomorph is highly tolerant and not so sensitive compared to the ectomorph.

Some clarifications about Sheldon's somatotypes

Leaving aside the psychological aspect of the theory that has been much criticized, the previous somatotypes represent extremes . However, in his studies, Sheldon achieves these somatotypes by studying five elements of the body (head, thorax, legs, etc.) separately to then add them and achieve these somatotypes.

But apart from these extreme body types, Sheldon's theory does not rule out the existence of certain nuances in this categorization. In real life there are more than three somatotypes, and it is easy to find a perfect ectomorph, but also a mesomorph that has fat as endomorphs, so this individual would be a combination of two extreme somatotypes and would share characteristics of both body types .


The Somatotype Myth: Ectomorph Mesomorph Endomorph (February 2024).


Similar Articles