Growth and Development of Schoolchildren

Overview

With the support of the Internal Grant Agency of the Ministry of Health CR in 1997 - 1999 the grant„Semilongitudinal survey of the physical growth of schoolchildren in the CR“ was implemented. The objective ofthis project is to assess the growth rates of the basic bodily characteristics of children aged 6 to 14 years, to confirmthe positive secular trend in height and body weight or its slowing or stagnation and also to evaluate the somaticgrowth and development of children under the new socio-economic conditions. In addition to thirty assessedsomatic characteristics which are recorded repeatedly every six months in 1925 children, some supplementarydata were obtained from parents.From the hitherto assembled results ensues that no significant change occurred in the length at birth nor thebirth weight as compared with 1989. As compared with the seventies and eighties, the breastfeeding period islonger. According to the results of this survey 57% infants are breastfed longer than three months and 28% longerthan 6 months. The increase of mean height up to puberty continues. In the older age groups it probably stagnates.Despite a slight increase of mean body weight values since 1981 a gradual decline of the BMI was recorded. In boysthis trend is less marked than in girls, in particular in the oldest age groups. This trend was confirmed also by theresults of the survey which is under way at present. As compared with the results of the 5th Nationwideanthropological survey in 1991 the group of overweight children, i.e. those above the 90th percentile of BMI accountamong the almost 2000 examined children for 6.9% in boys and 8.9% girls as compared with the expected 10%.

Key words:
schoolchildren, physical growth and development