Relationships of motor performance of adult men to anthropometry: A multivariate analysis

Relationships between 12 anthropometric characteristics and motor performance, as measured by various fitness tests, were considered in a sample of 165 Flemish adults observed at age 30 years. In addition to a bivariate correlation study, a canonical correlation analysis was carried out. More than 72% of the variance was shared by the first three canonical variables. The first canonical variable can be explained as a general size function. Static and functional strength are clearly related to this function. The second canonical variable can be interpreted as a size-fatness function. Nearly all motor tests are projected on the second composite, indicating that in adult men, subcutaneous fatness is negatively related to physical fitness. By means of a biplot of the first two canonical variables, interrelationships between body dimensions and motor performance are clarified. A combination of the first two functions seems to provide information about physique. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.