Influence of Dominant Body Somatotype and Sex Difference on Q-angle and Selected Skeletal Measures Among Undergraduates in a South-Eastern Nigerian University

Abstract

The body somatotype is expressed in a three-number rating representing the endomorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy components respectively. Endomorphy is the relative fatness; mesomorphy is the relative musculoskeletal robustness; and ectomorphy is the relative slenderness of a physique.The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of dominant body somatotype and sex difference on Q-angle and selected
skeletal measures (hip width and femur length) of undergraduates in a south-eastern Nigerian university. A total of 250 young adults (125 males and 125 females) aged 18 - 30 years participated in this study. The Heath-
Carter Anthropometric Body Somatotyping method was used to measure the body somatotype of each of the participants. A goniometer and flexible tape were also used to measure the Q-angle, hip width and femur length
of each of the participants. Data was summarized using mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentages; and analysed using the student’s t-test, ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation at alpha level of 0.05. The mean ages of the male and female participants were 22.61 ± 2.56yrs and 21.92 ± 2.61yrs respectively. The results show that the most prevalent dominant body somatotype in males and females was mesomorphy. It can be concluded that each dominant somatotype has different values for Q-angle, hip width and femur length; thus establishing that dominant body somatotype and sex difference influences Q- angle, hip width and femur length.

KEY WORDS: body somatotype, q-angle, hip width, femur length