Morphological Characteristics and Obesity Indicators in Primary School Children in Slavonia

The aim of the study was to determine the growth rate, nutritional status, as well as possible differences between children from different demographic areas in Slavonia. The sample consisted of 801 children (407 boys and 394 girls) from grades 1 to 4 in several primary schools in Slavonia. The sample was divided into two subsamples urban/rural, which were thereafter classified within each subsample according to gender. A sample of variables consisted of two anthropometric recordings of body height and body weight, after which a body mass index – BMI was calculated.The basic descriptive parameters were calculated and the t-test was used for determining the difference between the observed variables. A two-factor multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tested the significance of differences between the two subsamples. No significant differences were observed between anthropometric characteristics of children from urban and rural areas. There is a noticeable trend of steady growth in body height and body weight for both genders. BMI also shows a negative trend of increase for both genders, and there are also more children who are at risk of obesity during the first four grades. Significant differences were observed only between genders in grades 1 and 2 in which boys are more dominant in body height and body weight. Systematic monitoring of anthropological characteristics should be an integral part of children’s growth and development in order to ensure timely and adequate precaution measures and prevent negative health effects.Key words: anthropometry, BMI, children, growth, nutritional status SAŽETAKCilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi tempo rasta, stupanj uhranjenosti kao i moguće razlike djece različitih demografskih područja u slavoniji. Uzorak ispitanika činilo je 801 djece (407 učenika i 394 učenica) 1. do 4. razreda osnovnih škola u Slavoniji, a uzorak varijabli činile su antropometrijske dvije mjere tjelesna visina i tjelesna masa, te je izračunat indeks tjelesne mase - BMI. Izračunati su osnovni deskriptivni parametri, za utvrđivanje razlika u promatranim varijablama između korišten je t-test, a dvofaktorskom multivarijatnom analizom varijance (manova) testirala se značajnost razlika između dva subuzoraka. Uočeno je kako nema značajne razlike u promatranim antropometrijskim karakteristikama između djece urbanih i ruralnih sredina. Kod oba spola je primjetan ravnomjeran trend prirasta u tjelesnoj visini i tjelesnoj masi. Vrijednosti BMI također pokazuju negativan trend porasta kod oba spola, kao i povećanje broja djece koja se nalaze u zoni rizika od pretilosti, tijekom prva četiri razreda. Značajne razlike primjećene su samo između spolova u 1 i 2 razredu pri čemu su dječaci dominantniji u tjelesnoj visini i tjelesnoj masi.Sustavno praćenje antropoloških obilježja trebalo bi biti neizostavno tijekom rasta i razvoja djece kako bi se pravovremenim i adekvatnim pristupom preventivno djelovalo na organizam i sprječile negativne posljedice na zdravlje.Ključne riječi: antropometrija, BMI, djeca, razvoj, stupanj uhranjenosti

Anthropometry · Body height · Body mass index · Body weight · Cross-sectional study · Multivariate analysis · Multivariate analysis of variance · Obesity · Statistics · Demography · Human Health and Disease · Mathematics · Medicine · Physical Education and Training Studies