Sex-related differences in the physical fitness of adolescents aged 16 to 18 years

Abstract

Background: Human motor skills are the sum of all motor abilities and manifestations of activity. Somatic and functional differences between women and men may affect sex-related differences in motor skills. The aim of this research was to analyse sex-related differences in the physical fitness of young people aged 16 to 18 years.Material and methods: The research comprised 194 students attending randomly selected high schools in the Rzeszów district, including 104 females and 90 males aged 16 to 18 years. The research tool was the Eurofit test battery. The Mann-Whitney U test was used in the analyses.Results: There were statistically significant differences in the following tests for all studied groups: Sit-and-Reach, Standing Broad Jump, Hand Grip, Sit-Ups, 10×5 metre Shuttle Run, Endurance Shuttle Run (p>0.05). In the group of 18-year-olds, there were statistically significant differences between sexes in the Flamingo Balance test (p=0.003), whereas between the groups of participants aged 17 (p<0.001) and 18 years (p<0.001), differences were noted in the Bent Arm Hang test.Conclusions: Females, regardless of age, are more flexible than males. In turn, males, regardless of age, are characterised by greater explosive power of the lower limbs, greater static strength, strength endurance of the trunk muscles, greater speed and agility, and cardio-respiratory endurance. In the case of 18-year-olds, females were characterised by better static balance. In 17- and 18-year-old males, functional strength of the shoulder girdle and arms was higher in males than females. The speed of movements of the upper limb was not a differentiating feature between the examined females and males.