Abstract: The author used the Heath-Carter somatotyping method to study the physique of Chinese college students counting 485 normal and 130 physical training ones in Shanxi province. Resultsas following were obtained. Comparisons of male and female somatotype means clearly show se-xual dimorphism. Somatotype is changing differently from aged 16 to 22 years for male and female. Males tend to become more mesomorphic, and the females more endomorphic at first, and then less endomorphic. Physical training produces effects on somatotypes in different ways forthe males and females. Comparing Chinese students somatotype mean with that of foreign students, there are some differences, especially for male. Somatotype attitudinal distances (SAD)between male and female for Chinese and Hawaiian Japanese, which are non-White samples, are larger than the White ones.

Key words: Somatotype; Heath-Carter method; College students; Shanxi