Key takeaways

  • Understanding your body type, or somatotype, can help you tailor your diet and exercise routines for better health outcomes.
  • There are three primary body types: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph, each with distinct characteristics that influence how your body responds to food and physical activity.
  • By identifying your body type, you can gain insight into optimizing your eating habits and workout strategies to achieve your personal health goals.

Everyone has a unique body. What “healthy” looks like for one person, may be different for someone else. A major component of how exercise and diet affect our bodies has to do with our body type.

Currently, research suggests there are three dominant body types, known as somatotypes:

  • ectomorph (long and lean; little body fat or muscle)
  • mesomorph (well-defined muscles; more muscle than body fat)
  • endomorph (curvy; greater body fat than muscle)

Although more research is still needed to understand the different body type categories and their influence on outcomes of diet and exercise choices made, getting a general sense of which body type you fall into, can help you understand how to adjust your eating and exercise habits for optimal results.

Take the quiz to find out if you are more of an ectomorph, a mesomorph, or an endomorph, and what that may mean for you and achieving your health goals.