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Variation in sexual dimorphism in relation to physical activity
Author(s) -
Buffa Roberto,
Marini Elisabetta,
Floris Giovanni
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.1057
Subject(s) - sexual dimorphism , anthropometry , demography , multivariate statistics , multivariate analysis , physical activity , univariate , body mass index , homogeneous , principal component analysis , sexual difference , biology , statistics , medicine , mathematics , zoology , psychology , endocrinology , physical therapy , combinatorics , sociology , psychoanalysis
The aim of this study was to examine variations in sexual dimorphism in relation to physical activity. A sample of 542 males and females (20–30 years), born and resident in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy), was divided into two groups: active and inactive. Twenty‐five anthropometric dimensions were taken (weight, lengths, breadths, circumferences, and skinfolds). The circumferences and skinfolds were adjusted for the effects of overall body size (represented by skeletal variables). Body composition parameters—fat‐free mass (FFM), fat mass (FM), and arm muscular area (AMA)—were derived from the adjusted values. The D index (Bennett, 1981; Chakraborty and Majumder, 1982) was used to assess the degree of sexual dimorphism. The difference between the D values of active and inactive individuals was analyzed with the technique of Bennett (1981). Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed on groups of homogeneous variables (circumferences and skinfolds) in order to simplify the description of the original anthropometric data. The univariate and multivariate analyses indicate a greater sex difference in the group of individuals who are regularly active. The results agree with theoretical expectations, and suggest greater stability of women to environmental pressures (i.e., physical activity). Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:341–348, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.