Changes in physical fitness and body build of women and men surveyed in 2004 and 2022—A longitudinal study

Abstract Physical fitness plays a crucial role in determining human health and overall well‐being. The objective of the study was to assess the changes in body structure and physical fitness among individuals examined in 2004 and 2022 (persons aged 32–34 and 50–52). The research material consists of data from the Krakow Continuous Study (KCS) of somatic development and physical fitness of people born in 1970 and 1972, conducted in Krakow in the years 1976–2022. In total, in 2004, 103 women and 122 men took part in the study, and in 2022–47 women and 67 men. Of these participants, 37 women and 53 men were present for both measurements. The following measurements were performed–physical fitness tests: handgrip strength of left and right hand, standing broad jump, sit‐and‐reach test and overhead medicine ball throw (2 kg); anthropometric measurements: body height, body weight and tissue composition, circumferences of the chest (relaxed and in deep inspiration), waist, hips, thigh, mid‐upper‐arm (MUAC, relaxed and in deep inspiration), forearm and calf, thickness of biceps, triceps, subscapular, abdominal, suprailiac and calf skinfolds; width of shoulders and hips, depth and width of the chest. A comparative analysis of the two series showed that all fitness test scores deteriorated. The percentage decrease was greater in women than in men in the tests of right and left handgrip strength and overhead medicine ball throw than in men, in the standing broad jump test similar in both sexes, in the sit‐and‐reach test–lower in women than in men. The greatest decreases were observed in the standing broad jump (by 14%) and the 2 kg medicine ball throw (15–12%), both in women and men. In contrast, the level of development of most of the somatic characteristics studied in 2022 was higher compared to the previous study, and, apart from body height, elbow and knee width and calf skinfold in both sexes, the differences in arithmetic means between the 2004 and 2022 series were statistically significant. Furthermore, the absence of involutionary changes in body height can be highlighted. In conclusion, the decrease in physical fitness occurring in adulthood and the increase in most somatic characteristics between 32 and 34 year‐olds and 50 and 52 year‐olds were confirmed.