Somatotype as Related to Age at Peak Velocity and to Peak Velocity in Height, Weight and Static Strength in Boys

Relationships between somatotype and age at peak velocity and peak velocity in height, weight and static strength (arm pull) are considered in a sample of 155 boys followed longitudinally between the ages of 13 and 18 years. The somatotype was estimated according to the atlas technique of Sheldon. The velocity in height, weight, and static strength (arm pull) was calculated at half yearly intervals using moving polynomials, and age at peak velocity was determined starting from the interval with the largest increment and taking into account the shape of the velocity curve before and after that interval. Comparisons were made between boys with an early, average, or late age at peak velocity, and between boys with a high, average, or low peak velocity in height, weight, and static strength.Since the somatotype is a “Gestalt”, differences between groups were tested with a multivariate analysis of variance, pairwise comparisons with Hotel-ling T2, and, for further interpretation, discriminant analysis. The somatotype as a whole was associated with the age at peak velocity in height and, to a lesser degree, with age at peak velocity in weight, and static strength. Early-maturing boys had higher mesomorphy scores from the age of 15 years onward than late-maturing boys. Only peak velocity in weight was associated with the somatotype as a whole: higher mean endomorphy scores were found for boys with a high peak weight velocity.