Is it normal to have long arms

Where should they end? What about the shape of the sleeve? Discover which shapes are best for you. How about making your upper arms look slimmer? Want to understand more about what suits your body shape? Thank you! According to your video, I have average to slightly long arms, however I know that my bust to hip and hip to knee are short proportionally. Would this mean that I then have slightly short to average arms, or do those proportions not come into play here?

Wondering who would be interested in these ratios? Artists are avid users of human body ratios, because it helps them draw realistic-looking figures.

They are also used in the medical world; a sizable deviation from a human body ratio can indicate a body that does not develop according to expectations.

In this science activity we will examine some human body ratios and, if you like, we can explore how they can help you draw more realistic-looking figures. Observations and results You probably found your arm span to height ratio approximately to be one to one whereas the femur to height was approximately one to four.

This is expected because on average and over a large age range the human body has an arm span that is roughly equal to its height and a femur bone roughly a quarter of its height. The head to body ratio is a little more complex as it changes from a ratio of about one to four for a small child to about one to eight for an adult. A five-year-old is likely to have a head to body ratio of about one to six. It is good to remember these ratios are averages over a large group of people.

This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science. Materials Yarn Scissors A hardcover book A helper Pen and paper optional Measuring tape optional Preparation To compare the length of different parts of your body with your height, we will first create a string the length of your height. Take off your shoes.

The easiest way is to lie on the ground with your heels pressing against a wall. Look straight up and have your helper place a hardcover book flat against the top of your head, resting on the ground. Get out from under the book and, together, span the yarn across the floor from the wall to the book, cutting the yarn just where it reaches it. Now you have a piece of yarn that is as long as you are tall.

If lying on the ground is not possible, you can also stand flat on the floor against the wall and have the book rest on top of your head and against the wall. Procedure First, we examine your arm span to height ratio. Your arm span is the distance between the middle fingertips on each hand when you stretch your arms out as far as they can reach.

How do you think your height compares with your arm span? Would it be similar, way longer or way shorter? Now stretch your arms out as far as they can reach.

Your arms will be parallel to the ground. Hold one end of the piece of yarn you just cut off with the fingertips of your left hand. Let your helper span the yarn toward the tip of your right hand's middle finger. I can't hold my wife's hand without bending my elbow. Generally accepted knowledge says your wingspan - that distance from the tip of one middle finger to the tip of that same finger on the other outstretched arm - is roughly the same as your height. My wingspan is 72 inches, or 6 feet.

My height is 69 inches, or 5 feet 9 inches. I could never understand where those extra three inches came from. A girl at school used to call me "Daddy Longlegs" because my arms and legs were so long and unwieldy. Most of my woes come with clothes. At , I'm the average height of a man in the United States. Needing a inch arm, however, makes finding clothes very difficult. Even when I do find them, my arms are long, not my torso.

Countless shirts have pockets resting on my gut. In high school, my older brother and I could generally wear the same long-sleeved shirts. That's awkward, since he's nearly 6 inches taller than I am.