Somatic characteristic, morphological asymmetry and postural stability of youth male canoeists compared to control. A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationships between selected morphological characteristics and the level of body composition asymmetry with postural stability among canoeists and a control group. METHODS: The sample consisted of 43 males (21 canoeists 21.8±3.29 years and 22 university students 21.7±1.32 years). Measurements included body height and weight. Segmental body composition analysis was assessed using the bioelectrical impedance by determining: fat mass (FM, kg, %), fat-free mass (FFM, kg) and predicted muscle mass (PMM, kg). Postural stability was tested using the BIODEX Balance System. Anterior-posterior stability index (APSI), medial-lateral stability index (MLSI) and overall stability index (OSI) were calculated. RESULTS: Our findings suggest that the canoeists had statistically lower level of fatty tissue compared to controls. There was a statistically important difference between groups in lower limb FM (% and kg). In both groups morphological asymmetry was observed, but in most cases-in athletes. Asymmetries between right and left arms appeared in all parameters, while asymmetries between right and left legs were noted in all parameters except FM (kg). There were relationships between stature and body weight with postural stability in canoeists. Canoeists demonstrated better balance than controls, particularly in the APSI. For all stability indices, significant differences were observed between right and left legs across all participants. CONCLUSIONS: Athletes, with larger asymmetries or poorer balance, require more attention to improve performance and reduce the risk of overload injury. Future studies needed to develop sport-specific level of morphofunctional asymmetry which would be optimal for sport results and health as well.

Weight status of rural school youth in Poland: secular change 1986-2016.

The objective of this study was to evaluate secular changes in the Body Mass Index (BMI) and weight status of rural children and adolescents in west-central Poland across decennial surveys spanning 1986 and 2016. Participants were 8,677 boys and girls 7-15 years attending schools in 10 rural communities in 1986, 1996, 2006, and 2016. Heights and weights were measured; BMIs were calculated. Weight status was classified using International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) criteria. The sample was partitioned into three age groups (7-9, 10-12, 13-15 years) for analysis of secular change in the BMI using sex-specific analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with age and age2 as covariates, and for comparison of the prevalence of mild, moderate and severe thinness and of overweight and obesity. BMIs increased, on average, across the four surveys, but differences between adjacent surveys varied. Prevalence of severe and moderate thinness was low in both sexes, while mild thinness tended to decline over time, more so among girls. Overweight and obesity increased over time, especially in 2006 and 2016 compared to 1986 and 1996. In conclusion, secular changes in the BMI between 1986 and 2016 were significant. Age-adjusted mean BMIs suggested a gradient, 2016 > 2006 > 1996 > 1986, except in girls 13-15 years. However, changes across the decennial surveys varied. The observed changes in overweight and obesity between 1986 and 2016 were consistent with studies in Poland spanning the past two generations.

Physical Fitness of Rural Polish School Youth: Trends Between 1986 and 2016.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the study was to evaluate secular changes in the physical fitness of rural school youth, 7-15 years, in west-central Poland between 1986 and 2016. METHODS: The fitness of cross-sectional samples of school youth resident in the same 10 communities was evaluated in 4 decennial surveys: 1986-1417 boys/1326 girls; 1996-979 boys/947 girls; 2006-871 boys/843 girls; and 2016-1189 boys/1105 girls. Five tests evaluated speed (5-m run), agility (figure 8 run), explosive power (vertical jump), flexibility (stand and reach), and cardiovascular fitness (modified Harvard step test). Age- and sex-specific descriptive statistics were calculated by survey, while differences among surveys were compared in 3 broad age groups (7-9, 10-12, and 13-15 y) using analysis of variance with age and age squared as covariates. RESULTS: Speed and flexibility declined, while the jump and step test index changed variably across surveys. Although agility improved across surveys, the major improvement occurred between 1986 and 1996. CONCLUSIONS: Performances of rural school youth on 5 tests of physical fitness changed significantly, but, variably, between 1986 and 2016. The results were generally consistent with other studies of Polish school youth that spanned a similar interval.

Morphological asymmetry, sex and dominant somatotype among Polish youth.

The aim of the present study was to determine the level of morphological asymmetry among the general population of Polish youth as it correlates to sex and body type. The anthropometric characteristics of a group of 618 Polish youths (354 males aged 19.5 ± 1.2 years and 264 females aged 19.2 ± 1.2 years) were evaluated to assess their somatotypes using the Heath-Carter method. Body composition was calculated using the bioelectrical impedance method, and the absolute asymmetry index was used for comparisons between the right and left sides of the body. Significant differentiation was observed between all morphological characteristics (≤ 0.0001) and two body types (≤ 0.0001) among sexes. Females and males largely exhibited endomorphic and mesomorphic somatotypes, respectively. The findings demonstrated that dominant somatotype and sex both affect the level of fat mass asymmetry in the arms and legs. Furthermore, significant variations in the levels of asymmetry between sexes were observed in fat mass in both the arms and legs, with greater variation observed in the arms. In the case of muscle mass, no great differences were observed between men, women, or body types. This study provides new data on the morphological asymmetry of given body composition according to somatotype and sex. This study has potential medical implications, given that a large degree of inter-limb imbalance could be shown to have a negative effect on health; the findings of the present study would therefore be important for arriving at an understanding of how to prevent such imbalances, or to mitigate their negative effects.

The relationship between CA repeat polymorphism of the IGF-1 gene and the structure of motor skills in young athletes.

The map of candidate genes that can potentially affect physical fitness becomes larger every year, and they are associated with such aspects as respiratory and cardiovascular stability; body build and composition - especially muscle mass and strength; carbohydrate and lipid metabolism; response to training; and exercise intolerance.The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the CA repeat polymorphism of the P1 promoter of the IGF1 gene and the structure of motor skills in the two groups of Polish young athletes in 2007-2009. In this study, 350 young sportsmen representing different sports disciplines were examined (age = 15.5 ± 0.5 years), by genotyping the IGF1 gene and determining the structure of motor skills using the International Physical Fitness Test (IPFT) battery. The multiple stepwise regression was used to determine the impact of the investigated motor skills on the indicator of the overall physical fitness, measured by the total score of the International Physical Fitness Test (IPFT). The analysis showed some regularity related to the character of the IGF1 gene polymorphism. It can be concluded that the two groups of young boys athletes practicing various sports disciplines (kinds of physical exercise) displayed similar associations between CA repeat polymorphism of the P1 promoter of the IGF1 gene and the level of motor effects. Our results suggest that this polymorphism may be a genetic marker of the physical performance phenotype. We demonstrated that CA repeat polymorphism of the P1 promoter of the IGF1 gene was associated with strength predispositions in the homozygous and non-carriers groups. In the group who were heterozygous it was speed-strength aptitudes.

Structure of Physical Fitness Among Young Female Basketball Players (Trends of Changes in 2006-2013).

The aim of this study was to identify trends of changes in the structure and levels of motor effects among young women basketball players in 2006-2013. These changes were examined in the context of comprehensive development of functional, fitness-related, and technical fundamentals with respect to requirements of specific training adopted as typical for targeted sports training stage. The research material was collected in 2006-2013 among young basketball players from the Greater Poland region. The study evaluated 169 girls (mean ± SD: age = 15.5 ± 0.5 years; height = 173.5 ± 5.8 cm; weight = 60.2 ± 7.9 kg). The measurements focused on the structure of motor effects in the athletes studied. For this purpose, the study used the International Physical Fitness Test. The study found that overall physical fitness of young women basketball players has been declining year by year. On the one hand, this might have been caused by the tendency for regression in motor modifications across generations that have been observed among populations. On the other hand, changes in weight-height ratio toward increasing obesity have also been observed. The results may serve as a kind of expertise about the structure of motor development of successive age groups of sports talented young women in light of training objectives at the targeted sports training stage as compared with trends typical for the general population. By describing the results of long-term research, this article offers a way of detecting possible positive or negative tendencies at a relatively early stage.