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Secular trend in body size among college athletes
Author(s) -
Polednak Anthony P.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330420318
Subject(s) - secular variation , athletes , demography , crew , football , ice hockey , body weight , zoology , geography , medicine , biology , physical therapy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , sociology , archaeology
Height and weight were compared across five birth decades (1850–1899) among 1,121 Harvard atheletes who were letternmen in various sports. There were considerable differences in the magnitude of the secular trend among the sport categories (crew, baseball, football, track, ice hockey, and two or more sports). Comparing the 1890–1899 and 1860–1869 birth‐cohort samples, football lettermen were 2.6 inches (6.6 cm) taller (p < 0.001) and 20 pounds (9.1 kg) heavier (p < 0.001). Crew lettermen were 2.6 inches taller (p < 0.001) and 8.5 pounds (3.9 kg) heavier (p < 0.05). For lettermen in other sports, changes in mean height and weight were smaller in magnitude. Differential selection for body size may explain the differences in the magnitude of the secular trend when analzyed by specific sport.