Tall men with medium body fat mass percentage display more developmental stability

Abstract

A symmetrical body may signal the ability of an individual to cope with developmental perturbations and may thus be considered a 'health certificate'. It is known that symmetrical men are considered more attractive by women and that their reproductive success is higher. This study examined the associations between measures of body structure and fluctuating asymmetry in young Turkish men. Weight, height, and bioelectrical impedance were measured in a sample of 250 men residing in Ankara (mean age = 18.4, SD = 0.6), and body mass index was calculated. Fluctuating asymmetry was measured using hand length, hand width, elbow width, wrist width, knee width, ankle width, foot length, foot width, ear length, and ear width. According to the obtained findings, there is a negative linear relationship between composite fluctuating asymmetry (CFA) and height, and a positive quadratic relationship between CFA and fat mass. These results might indicate that the tall Turkish men with medium body fat mass percentage display more developmental stability. (C) 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.