The Comparison of Somatotype Structures in Students Studying at Different Departments of Physical Education

This study aims to analyze the somatotype structures in students studying at different departments of physical education. A total of 300 male students (elite-sub-elite athletes) who study physical education and sports (n=100), coaching education (n=100) and sports management (n=100) at School of Physical Education and Sports at University of Kirsehir Ahi Evran voluntarily participated in this study. Somatotype structures were determined using Heath-Carter method and SOMATOTURK calculation program. SPSS 22.0 package program for Windows was used for correlation analysis, and the level of significance was taken as 0.05. The results indicate that while students (elite-sub-elite athletes) participating in the study had a mesomorph structure, which is one of the most important body structure parameters for performance and characterized by a muscularity component, during early periods of their education (freshman and sophomore years), their bodies transformed into an endomorph structure, which is characterized by fat components, during later periods of their education (junior and senior years).


Introduction
Somatotype reveals an individual's body type.The determination of somatotype is a method used to define human physiology from different aspects in relation with body shape and composition (Eston, & Reilly, 2009).The percentages of body components differ depending on the sport type, and influence an athlete's performance (Bektas, Koca Ozer, Gultekin, Sagir, & Akin, 2007).Body structure and anthropometry play an important role in sports performances.Body structures which are formed by specific body movement sequences in a sport resemble each other in terms of anthropometric properties (Elliott, & Mester, 1998).Therefore, these differences are likely to change performance limits of an athlete (Karakus, & Kilinc, 2006;Uetake, & Ohtsuki, 1993).It is necessary to determine the effect of body structure on the performance in order to test the performance limits.Thus, there is no doubt that the determination of somatotype structures, which play a decisive role in sports performance, will contribute and bring a new perspective to the sports science.

Material and Methods
This study focuses on the analysis of somatotype structures in students studying at different departments of physical education.A total of 300 male students (elite-sub-elite athletes) who study physical education and sports (n=100), coaching education (n=100) and sports management (n=100) at School of Physical Education and Sports at University of Kirsehir Ahi Evran voluntarily participated in this study.Somatotype structures of the athletes (endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph) were determined using Heath-Carter method.Endomorph is a component characterized by a round body shape.It can defined as the "fat" component of a body.Mesomorph is characterized by a slim and square body shape with strong and visibly muscularity.The bones are surrounded by big and thick muscles.Ectomorph is represented by a slim and thin body and defines a fat-free body structure (Fox, Bowers, & Foss, 2012).

Determination of Somatotypes
The somatotype values of the participants were determined using Heath Carter method.Thanks to factor analysis, this method can easily determine somatotypes among different anthropometric measurements without needing images.It is based on tables calculated using statistical analyses on some measurements which belong to individuals whose somatotypes are determined using Sheldon Atlas.These tables formulate triceps, subscapula and suprailiac skinfold thickness in order to calculate endomorph points (Formula 1).Humerus epicondyle breadth, femur epicondyle breadth, biceps during flexion, calf circumference, triceps skinfold thickness and medial calf skinfold thickness are measured in order to calculate mesomorph points (Formula 2).Height and weight measurements are used for ectomorph points (Formula 3) (Carter, & Heath, 1971;Carter, & Heath 1990;Ross, & Marfell-Jones, 1991;Carter, 2002).In addition, "SOMATOTURK" program developed by Marangoz & Ozbalci (2017) was used for calculations.Central: The difference between one component and other two components is not higher than one unit.Ectomorphic Endomorph: While it is dominated by endomorph, ectomorph is greater than mesomorph (Carter, 2002;Duquet, & Carter, 2009).

Statistical Analyses
SPSS 22.0 package program for Windows was used for descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation analysis and chi-square analysis, and the level of significance was taken as 0.05.

Discussion
The complex structure of sports performance stems from the high number and diversity of related factors, which may influence the performance positively and negatively.They are divided into two groups as internal and external factors.Internal factors are elements in a human body which are partially hereditary, can vary with small changes within time and are impossible or too difficult to change through external interventions.Age, gender and anatomic structure are among leading internal factors.External factors, on the other hand, as its name implies, do not depend on human body and structure and thus can indirectly influence sports performance through physical and psychic components.Therefore, it is more reasonable and easier to make changes on the external factors to improve sports performance for healthier and more effective results (Bayraktar, & Kurtoglu 2004).
Various studies indicate that some athletic traits particularly decline due to ageing, which is one of the internal factors.For instance, sprinters lose a considerable portion of their speed and reaction time, and it takes them longer to touch the ground while falling, which is a direct negative influence on their running times (Korhonen, Mero, & Suominen, 2003).Isokinetic knee extension/flexion strength test results of elite football players and specific test results of oarsmen demonstrated that strength and endurance-related performance values decline in proportion to ageing (Galloway, Kadoko, & Jokl, 2002).Gualdi-Russo and Zaccani (2001) was researched somatotype of 234 male and 244 female elite Italian volleyball players in relation to their different game roles.Somatotypes of athletes were estimated with the Heath-Carter method.As a result of the study the physique of athletes in the A1 league was characterized by higher ectomorphy and lower endomorphy and mesomorphy.Besides the mesomorphic component was maximal in setters, while the ectomorphic component was maximal in centres.Pieter and Bercades (2009) studied about somatotypes of elite adult combative sport athletes.Subjects were members of the Philippine national senior teams in karate and pencak silat (30 men, 10 women) and fencing (6 women).The Heath-Carter somatotype method was used to assess the physiques of the athletes.When comparing the Filipino male elite karateka and silat athletes in the study, there was no statistical difference in somatotype.In the females, on the other hand, the karateka were significantly less mesomorphic than the fencers.The female silat athletes were more endomorphic than the karateka, although statistically not significant.However, the latter scored higher in endomorphy and mesomorphy, while the karateka were more ectomorphic.
It was found out in the present study that physical education and sports students (elite-sub-elite athletes) participating in the study were categorized as balanced mesomorph during their freshman and sophomore years, while they were categorized as mesomorph endomorph and endo mesomorph during their junior and senior years, respectively.Coaching education students (elite-sub-elite athletes) were categorized as balanced mesomorph and mesomorph endomorph during their freshman and sophomore years, respectively, while they were categorized as endo mesomorph during their junior and senior years.Finally, sports management students (elite-sub-elite athletes) were categorized as balanced mesomorph during their freshman and sophomore years, while they were categorized as mesomorph endomorph and endo mesomorph during their junior and senior years, respectively.
In conclusion, while students (elite-sub-elite athletes) participating in the study had a mesomorph structure, which is one of the most important body structure parameters for performance and characterized by a muscularity component, during early periods of their education (freshman and sophomore years), their bodies transformed into an endomorph structure, which is characterized by fat components, during later periods of their education (junior and senior years).This can be associated with some declines in athletic traits of the students (elite-sub-elite athletes) due their lack of goal setting in their discipline, which unsurprisingly resulted in an endomorph structure with dominant fat components.Thus, their sports performances dramatically decreased.

Table 1 .
Descriptive statistics of the study

Table 2 .
The comparison of somatotype structures among groups and within groups