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Directional asymmetry of body dimensions among white adolescents
Author(s) -
Schell Lawrence M.,
Johnston Francis E.,
Smith Daniel R.,
Paolone Albert M.
Publication year - 1985
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.1330670404
Subject(s) - circumference , anthropometry , fluctuating asymmetry , asymmetry , medicine , anatomy , psychology , mathematics , geometry , biology , physics , quantum mechanics , evolutionary biology
Asymmetry of paired dimensions has been recognized as a methodological problem in anthropometry and more recently as an indicator of environmental stress. This study seeks to determine the extent of directional asymmetry for some of the measurements commonly made in anthropometry. Upper arm circumference, biepicondylar breadth, triceps and subscapular skinfolds, bicondylar breadth of the femur, and calf circumference were measured on right and left sides among 135 white adolescents from suburban Philadelphia. Handedness (right or nonright) was subject‐assessed. Body composition was estimated through underwater weighing. Asymmetry was evaluated using a paired t test. Arm measurements are significantly asymmetric in favor of the right side; subscapular skinfolds and leg measurements are not significantly asymmetric. Among the sample of right‐handed subjects (n = 116), upper arm circumference and biepicondylar breadth were significantly larger on the right side, and, among the males of this subsample, triceps was as well. The nonright‐handed subjects (n = 19) did not show statistically significant asymmetry. Asymmetry was negatively but weakly related to body composition. These results are consistent with an explanation in terms of preferred use of one side of the body and consequent muscle hypertrophy, but an adequate test of this explanation requires hypothesis testing in larger samples of nonright‐handed subjects.