CHANGES IN THE STATURE AND SITTING HEIGHT OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN RELATION TO REST IN THE RECUMBENT POSITION AND ACTIVITY FOLLOWING REST

Abstract

The study to be reported in this paper had its setting in a practical question of laboratory procedure. The question was: Does an afternoon rest period elicit a change in the stature and sitting height of children of preschool age which is sufficient to necessitate that repeated measurements of the same children at bimonthly or quarterly intervals be made with direct reference to the rest period? In other words, are there changes brought about by rest in the recumbent position which are great enough to affect the comparability of seriatim measurements on a given child where examinations are made before the rest period on some occasions, immediately after the rest period on other occasions, and at various times during the first hour following the termination of the rest period on still other occasions? The specific aims of the study may be listed as follows: 1. To determine whether children of preschool age show significant gains in stature and sitting height during an afternoon rest period 2. To investigate the amount of loss in stature and sitting height which takes place during the first one-half hour and first hour after the rest period 3. To study gain in stature and sitting height during rest (if appreciable gain is found to occur) in relation to duration of rest period and degree of relaxation 4. To determine if loss in stature during the first hour following rest is greater under vigorous physical activity than under slight or moderate activity