Based on the 1999-2006 annual reports of the Regional Environmental Monitoring System, differences in somatic and functional traits were evaluated among middle school students residing in cities with different levels of cadmium and lead air pollution. The sample consisted of 240 girls and 276 boys from Jastrzębie- Zdrój and Katowice aged 13 to 15 years. Place of residence and gender were independent variables, whereas dependent variables included morphological, muscular-motor, and cardiorespiratory components of healthrelated physical fitness (H-RF). Intergroup differences (between adolescents from Jastrzębie-Zdrój and Katowice) were assessed using Student’s t-test for independent samples, separately for boys and girls. The results indicate that functional traits, in particular VO₂max and motor coordination, are more sensitive to negative effects of environmental factors than anthropometric characteristics.