AGE AND SEX DIFFERENCES AND ALLOMETRY IN ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES IN YOUNG ADULTS FROM CENTRAL EUROPE (SLOVAKIA).

The subject of study was the anthropometry of an adult population in the period of early adulthood. In this study we evaluated twenty-four anthropometric parameters of Slovak population from three different districts (Bardejov, Zvolen and Považská Bystrica) in Slovakia. Our dataset consisted of 200 probands (108 men and 92 women) of young productive peoples with the age 18 to 35 years old with mean age 22.45 years for men and for women 22.46 years. We measured body mass (V1) and 24 anthropometric parameters (V2-V24). It also included calculation of the body mass index (BMI). The measurements in sexes overlapped, but both the univariate analysis (unpaired t-test) and multivariate analysis (two-way ANOVA) confirmed significant differences between them. The results of BMI values confirmed that both sexes belongs to "about right" weight category, i.e. the values in the range (18.50-24.99 kg/m2). For males and females were confirmed positive allometry between body mass and body height. Our data confirmed men biased sexual dimorphism with significantly higher dimensions than women and these results are fully consistent with the previous findings from above cited authors. Different allometric patterns obtained for sexes suggests that different changes during growth exist and may be due by different role in reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]