Comparison of somatotype structure and some physical and physiological parameters in adolescent athletes and sedentary individuals

Aim: In this study, the structure of the somatotype, physical characteristics and physiological parameters are compared between athletically active adolescents and sedentary individuals in order to investigate the relationships between these parameters. Material and Method: The study group consists of 12-15-year-old students who actively participate in sports (n=67, age=12-15) and sedentary students (n=67) attending 6th to 9th grade in Altınordu district of Ordu province, as determined by the Ministry of National Education. The participants were examined for height, weight, anthropometric measurements, flamingo balance, 'Y' balance, Illinois test and 30m sprint test, among others. The data obtained were analyzed with IBM SPSS 25.0 software using descriptive statistics, the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, the T-test for independent samples, the one-factorial analysis of variance, the multiple comparison test and the Pearson correlation test. A significance level of p=0.05 was used to analyze the data. Results: Significant differences were found between the participating active athletes in terms of flamingo balance, 'Y' balance, Illinois test, mesomorphy and ectomorphy values. According to the comparison results based on gender, significant differences were found in flamingo speed, 'Y' balance, anaerobic power, Illinois test, endomorphy and mesomorphy scores. Significant relationships were found between the balance data and leg mass velocity, the Illinois test and between the velocity values and the flamingo balance, 'Y' balance, anaerobic power, endomorphy, mesomorphy and Illinois test values. Conclusions: According to the results of the study, there are significant differences between people who exercise and those who do not in terms of static and dynamic balance, speed, agility and somatotypic structures. It can be seen that the balance abilities of females at this age are better than those of males, while they are significantly weaker in the characteristics of speed, agility and anaerobic power.