Morphological characteristics of female students of physical education compared to students of other subjects at the faculty of physical education and sport in Biała Podlaska

Introduction. TIn a situation characterized by a low birth rate and a highly competitive education market, increasing attention is currently being paid not only to students' level of education, but also to their competencies and predisposition. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to analyze differences in morphological features among physical education students as compared with students of other subjects at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport (WWFiS) in Biała Podlaska. Material and methods. This study is based on anthropometric data from 165 first-year female students at WWFiS in Biała Podlaska. Analysis was conducted on a selection of students divided into groups based on their study profile. Using the technique developed by Martin and Saller, measurements were taken of the anthropometric features required to determine BMI and WHR indexes and to estimate body tissue composition. The following were used to characterize the collected variables: sample size (n) arithmetic mean ( ) and standard deviation (SD). Differences among the groups with regard to the features being measured were assessed using ANOVA variation analysis and NIR testing. Results. The study did not confirm reports from other authors concerning analysis of connections between bodily structure and education profile. Thus, it should be concluded that a student's physique plays only a small role in their being selected to study physical education. Conclusions. The differences noted between the groups should rather be interpreted as owing to environmental differences in the lifestyles of the girls in question, rather than to recruitment procedures and, by extension, education profile.