How to take TikTok’s Body Type Quiz and is it accurate?

A new ‘type’ quiz is making waves on TikTok, following other similar quizzes about personality, but this time it’s all about your body type. Here’s how you can take the body type quiz, and also why you shouldn’t worry about the results.

Many of us aspire to have an improved physique: more muscle, less fat, wider shoulders, a thinner waist. The reality is that there is a lot of genetic variability between everyone, meaning your ‘dream’ physique may not be all that achievable.

But, of course, with a good diet and exercise, it is possible for anyone, regardless of genetics, to improve their physique, as well as overall health. The body type quiz on TikTok seeks to determine your starting position – but is it actually useful?

With over 400 million views on body type quiz videos, let’s take a look at what it really means.

What is the TikTok body type quiz?

The body type quiz attempts to place you into one of three categories: Mesomorph, Ectomorph, or Endomorph. These are three ‘body types’ that are often used to describe different physiques.

If you are an ‘ectomorph’ for example, it means you generally have low body fat as well as low muscle mass. Meanwhile, an Endomorph will have higher body fat, low muscle mass, while the Mesomorph has higher muscle mass naturally.

The body type quiz asks you a number of questions about your physique, such as your ‘bone size’, body fat levels, ability to gain muscle, and more.

You can take the body type quiz on Everyday Health – which claims that these body types have “solid science” behind them, but as explained below, this is debatable.

Is the TikTok body type quiz accurate?

Yes and no. While it might vaguely describe your body type right now, these three body types are not actually real, scientific body types. They are called ‘Somatotypes’ and were thought up by a psychologist, William Herbert Sheldon, in the 1940s.

Sheldon was trying to test if people with different body shapes had different personalities too – for example, a larger person might be more “jolly”. Of course, this is not true whatsoever, but the somatotype idea stuck.

Really, these body types (somatotypes) are mostly a myth. They are just a very simplified way of describing the various body shapes a human might have and you are not limited by your current body shape, to changing it to something different, for better or for worse. A thin ‘ectomorph’ for example could eat far too much food, put on a lot of weight, and now be considered an ‘endomorph’.

Or you, could build a lot of muscle and look like a mesomorph. Lots of fitness advice is even given on TikTok and elsewhere, based on your “body type” – but again, these body types are not real. So, while the body type quiz might be fun to try out, don’t worry about the results – they don’t mean much.