Fujii, T.(藤井貴之）, Goto, A.（後藤晶）, & Takagishi, H.（高岸治人） (2016). Does facial width-to-height ratio predict Japanese professional football players’ athletic performance? 顔の幅と高さの比率は日本人プロサッカー選手の競技成績を予測するか？ Letters on Evolutionary Behavioral Science, 7(1), 37-40. doi: 10.5178/lebs.2016.49
A number of studies have shown that facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR)—the distance between the two zygomatic arches (width) compared with the distance from the top of the lip to the bottom of the eyebrows (height)—is related to aggression and is reflective of testosterone levels. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between fWHR and the athletic performance of Japanese professional football players. Photographs of 343 Japanese professional football players were measured for fWHR and compared with the number of goals scored and penalty cards (yellow and red) acquired in the 2012 season. The results showed that fWHR was not associated with the number of goals scored in any football position. However, the number of penalty cards acquired was positively associated with fWHR only in the forward offensive position. These findings showed that fWHR is not related to goals scored by Japanese football players, but is related to the penalty cards acquired in the offensive domain.