Objective: This study aims to analyze age-related body shape characteristics of Korean men and women using principal component analysis (PCA), and to provide foundational data for the development of representative human body models reflecting body shape variation factors.

Background: Understanding age-related variations in body shape is essential for developing human-centered products. However, studies integrating statistical body shape analysis with applications for representative modeling remain limited.

Method: Anthropometric data from the 8th Size Korea survey were analyzed, including 6,249 adults (2,499 males and 3,750 females). After excluding duplicated and incomplete cases, 51 measurements for men and 54 for women were selected. PCA was conducted on 32 variables for men and 31 for women, determined through exploratory analysis.

Results: Seven principal components for men (74.1% of total variance) and six for women (73.1%) were extracted. Age-related differences in PC scores indicated decreased stature and limb length with aging, accompanied by increased torso volume. Representative body characteristics for each age group were derived based on the mean and standard deviation of PC scores.

Conclusion: The results demonstrate that PCA effectively captures age-related body shape variation and provides a systematic basis for defining representative body characteristics across age groups.

Application: The findings can support apparel and ergonomic product design, including virtual prototyping, e-commerce sizing, and fit evaluation across different life stages.