J. Biosoc. Sci., (2017) 49, 623–633, © Cambridge University Press, 2016 doi:10.1017/S0021932016000523 First published online 11 Oct 2016 SPORTS PREFERENCE AND DIGIT RATIO (2D:4D) AMONG FEMALE STUDENTS IN WROC L AW, POLAND MAREK KOCIUBA*, SLAWOMIR KOZIEL†, RAJA CHAKRABORTY‡ 1 AND ZOFIA IGNASIAK§ *General Tadeusz Kuściuszko Military Academy of Land Forces, Wroclaw, Poland, †Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland, ‡Department of Anthropology, Dinabandhu Mahavidyalaya, Bongaon, West Bengal, India and §Faculty of Physical Education, University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland Summary. Humans exhibit sex differences in competitiveness, sensation seeking and risk-taking attitude, which are required in sports. These attributes are often linked to prenatal testosterone (PT) exposure. The second-to-fourth digit length ratio (2D:4D) is an indicator of PT exposure. A lower 2D:4D indicates higher PT exposure and vice versa. Males generally have a lower 2D:4D than females. Sensation- and/or thrill-seeking behaviours have also been found to be negatively associated with 2D:4D. Boxing and judo are considered to be high-risk sports. Voluntary participation in judo/boxing in contrast to aerobics can be guided by such behaviours and thus have an association with lower 2D:4D. This cross-sectional study included 167 female students from a military academy in Wroclaw, Poland. Of them, 119 had voluntarily chosen aerobic exercise, and 48 opted for judo/boxing. Height, weight and second and fourth digit lengths were measured. Physical fitness was assessed using Eurofit tests. The two groups showed similar physical fitness and body size. However, the judo/boxing group had significantly lower mean 2D:4D values than the aerobics group. It is proposed that voluntary choice of participation in a sport discipline by women could be linked to the ‘organizational’ effect of intrauterine testosterone exposure during prenatal growth. Introduction Interest in participation in a variety of sports disciplines varies among individuals. Success in sports and games demands a substantial amount of competitiveness. Moreover, the desire to enter, participate and win in a sport has often been found to be linked with individual differences in competitiveness (Houston et al., 1997). 1 Corresponding author. Email: rajanth2003@yahoo.co.uk 623 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932016000523 Published online by Cambridge University Press