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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., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objectives: Health-related fitness is a good predictor of health status of children and adults. Less is known about relationships of health-related fitness components between parents and children. Methods: Our study involved 58 children (30 girls and 28 boys, mean age = 7.97) and 58 parents (33 mothers, mean age = 39.32, and 25 fathers, mean age = 38.73) who were voluntarily enrolled in the program in 3 selected primary schools in the city of Poznan, Poland. Physical fitness was measured using the Eurofit test battery. Assessment of body composition was performed by measuring the bioimpedance. Results: Positive relationships were found among the levels of strength of abdominal muscle, flexibility of parents, and the slenderness of children. Slimmer parents also had more physically active children. Body composition parameters also were related to physical activity. More relationships were found between children and parents of the same sex. Conclusion: Data support the hypothesis that health-related risk factors are linked between parents and children and that sex plays an important role in these relationships. Our findings reinforce the need to develop health promotion programs that include children and their parents.