Somatotypological structure of university students in the sex groups of equal body heights.

Abstract

Among the numerous publications on sexual dimorphism as affected by body build, few deal with the somatotype of men and women of the same height. The aim of the study was to determine the share of endomorphy, mesomorphy, and ectomorphy among men and women in different height categories and to determine whether the size of individual components differs between the sexes within the same height category. The research was carried out over the period of 2005-2015 on a cohort of 1,911 individuals, 625 men and 1,286 women, aged 18-25. Somatic measurements were performed according to the currently accepted technique as described by Martin and Saller. Using the results and the Heath-Carter method, the shares of endomorphy, mesomorphy, and ectomorphy were calculated. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to assess the relation between sex, individual height category and endomorphy, mesomorphy, and ectomorphy. Relationships between endomorphy, mesomorphy, ectomorphy and height were estimated using Pearson correlation and linear regression. In women's body build, regardless of body height, endomorphy prevails, with smaller shares of ectomorphy and mesomorphy while in men's body build mesomorphy and ectomorphy dominate. The analysis of forecasts (using linear regression equations) confirms that mesomorphy and endomorphy decrease in men and women as their height increases. The findings will be used to analyse secular changes in the evolution of male and female body build type over a longer period - which will show increasing or fading dimorphic differences.