engleski

Anthropometric characteristics and obesity indicators among preschool children in an urban area in Croatia

The aim of this research was to determine the growth rate and sex differences in anthropometric characteristics among preschool children in the city of Osijek. The research was based on a sample of 760 preschool children from 10 kindergartens in the territory of the city of Osijek. The measured variables were body height (BH) and weight (BW), which were used for calculating the body mass index (BMI) according to sex and age. The basic descriptive parameters were calculated and a t-test was used to determine possible differences by sex in the observed variables. The average results obtained within the BH and BW variables for sex and age indicate that the rate of growth is in line with the WHO’s prescribed values. Observing the BMI values, a very high value was notable in the third year of life (17.59 for boys and 17.62 for girls), following which the values decreased by the age of five and again increased after the age of five. The sex difference in terms of BH was proven to be statistically significant at the ages of four (p=0.03), five (p=0.029) and seven (p=0.037), while in terms of BW there was a statistically significant difference only at the age of four. No statistically significant sex difference in the BMI was found. Since there is a constant increase in the numbers, i.e. percentages, of overweight and obese children with age, it is recommended to take preventive and obesity reduction measures in the form of parent education on the risks that come with obesity, on the importance of a healthy diet and everyday physical activity, and on motivating and encouraging children to move through active play, as well as to continue with the constant monitoring of children’s current anthropometric status.

preschool children ; growth ; anthropometry ; BMI ; percentile

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