Trend of Body Mass Index in Elementary School Chidren in the Opatija Area

Prekomjerna i nezdrava prehrana, nedovoljna fizička aktivnost i genetska predispozicija, neki su od čimbenika koji mogu utjecati na povećanu tjelesnu masu. Indeks tjelesne mase (ITM) mjera je usko povezana s količinom prekomjernog masnog tkiva u ljudskom tijelu te se utvrdilo da je povećani ITM jedan od čimbenika rizika za razvoj kardiovaskularnih bolesti, dijabetesa i novotvorina. Cilj rada je prikazati trend kretanja indeksa tjelesne mase dječaka i djevojčica tijekom osnovnoškolskog obrazovanja na opatijskom području generacije, koja je upisala prvi razred 2010. godine, pohađala peti razred 2014. godine, a završila osnovnoškolsko obrazovanje 2017. godine. Podaci su dobiveni od školskog liječnika zaduženog za sistematske preglede osnovnoškolske djece opatijskog područja, zaposlenog u Nastavnom zavodu za javno zdravstvo Primorsko-goranske županije – Ispostava Opatija. Ukupan broj osnovnoškolske djece uključen u istraživanje je 325. Podaci koji su korišteni u ovom radu su visina, masa, spol i dob djeteta. S obzirom na izračunati ITM za svako dijete odredila se jedna od kategorija uhranjenosti: pothranjenost, normalna tjelesna masa, prekomjerna tjelesna masa i pretilost. Rezultati su se potom usporedili s kriterijima sljedećih velikih organizacija: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization te International Obesity Task Force. Dobiveni rezultati ukazuju na to da je pretilost najzastupljenija u petom razredu osnovne škole kod dječaka i djevojčica te da opada u odnosu na osmi razred. Također, uočena je češća pojava stanja pothranjenosti kod djevojčica u sva tri promatrana razreda u odnosu na dječake. Kako bi istraživanje bilo sveobuhvatnije potrebno je uključiti podatke o prehrambenim navikama, tjelesnoj aktivnosti i socioekonomskom statusu.Excessive and unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and genetic predisposition are some of the factors that can cause an increased body mass. The body mass index (BMI) is closely related to the amount of excessive fat tissue in the human body and when increased, can lead to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and neoplasms. The aim of this paper is to show the movement of the nutritional status of both male and female children throughout their primary education in the Opatija area. The generation that has participated in this research has been enrolled in the first grade in 2010, in the fifth grade in 2014 and has completed primary education in 2017. The data were obtained from the school doctor who works at Institute for Public Health (County of Primorje Gorski Kotar-Office Branch Opatija) and was entitled to perform the medical check-ups for the primary school children. A total of 325 primary school children has participated in this research. The data used in this study included children's weight, height, age and sex. Due to a calculated BMI for every child, one of the categories of nutrition was determined: underweight, normal body weight, overweight and obesity. The results were compared with the guidelines of the following major organizations: Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization and Prevention and International Obesity Task Force. The given results have indicated that obesity has been the most frequent among both male and female children and has had a tendency to decline in the fifth grade by comparison with the eight grade. Furthermore, it has been found that underweight has been more common among the female children in all three grades than it has been among the male children. In order to conduct a more comprehensive research it is necessary to include data about their eating habits, physical activity and socio-economical status