Some body types are often overused in books, while others are rarely encountered.
Women, of course, have vastly different body types than men. They are more often pear-shaped as they age where men's bodies frequently become apple-shaped with age. Either description conjures the image of an older person, at least of middle age.
A description of a waif-like creature conjures the image of a young woman or girl, where a muscled, hard body automatically conjures the image of a man at his peak.
There are also barrel shaped bodies, much like an apple shape, voluptuous, rubenesque... versus stick-thin, reedy, willowy, or slight.
Describe a man as slight with rounded shoulders and stick-thin arms and I have the image of a man whose job is behind a desk... But describe a man as tanned and brawny with arms like pistons and I have the image of someone more likely to be an outdoorsman who earns his living lifting or swinging heavy things - a logger or perhaps in construction.
Describe a man who is as big around as he is tall with pallid skin and arms as soft as a woman's and now I have the image of a man of great wealth who has everything handed to him; one who leads a soft life. His knees might creak as he rises, or one flight of stairs might wind him, or heat and humidity may cause him to perspire heavily.
