VARIABILITY OF MASCULINE INDICATORS AMONG YOUNG STUDENTS IN BELARUS

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2021-3/134-151

Abstract

The study aims to assess the variability of morphofunctional indicators of masculinity among students in Belarus over time and depending on the level of physical fitness. The research was carried out in 2016–2021 in Minsk (the Republic of Belarus). The sample consisted of 233 students (102 young men, 131 young women) aged 18 to 22. We also used the materials of our earlier study of 180 students (125 young men and 65 young women) of the Belarusian State University of Physical Culture. We compared our data to the archival data of the Department of Anthropology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus from the period 2000–2007: a total of 243 students in Minsk (98 young men, 145 young women). Anthropometric measurements of body length, body weight, shoulder width, pelvic width, waist circumference, hip circumference, tense shoulder circumference, relaxed shoulder circumference, length of the second and fourth fingers of both hands, wrist dynamometry of the right and left hand were carried out. The morphological indices were calculated. It was revealed that modern young men have more waist circumference than young men of the beginning of the XXI century. In young women, waist circumference and body weight showed greater stability. The width of the pelvis has decreased from the beginning of the 21st century to the present in both sexes. In modern young men, disharmony of physique due to excess body weight in relation to its length occurs more often than at the beginning of the century. The indicators of wrist dynamometry among modern Belarusian students have become lower compared to the beginning of the 2000s. The young men and women involved in physical culture had a significantly lower 2D:4D for the left hand and right hand than those who have a lower level of physical fitness. Thus, the study revealed the temporal variability of waist circumference, pelvic width, and dynamometry (strength capabilities) and the dynamics of morphological indices of masculinity among young students in Belarus.

For Citation: Kasparova, E.N., H.U. Skryhan, and V.I. Dunai. 2021. Variability of Masculine Indicators Among Young Students in Belarus. Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 3: 134–151