GENDER DIFFERENCES WITH RESPECT TO NUTRITION STATUS AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL INDICATORS

Abstract

Because of today's lifestyle, more and more children have problems with excessive body mass from the earliest age. The reasons for this are poor diet, but also insufficient physical activity. Historically, mostly girls had a slightly higher percentage of body fat and had a lower level of physical activity, but trends are changing. So, the aim of this research was to determine whether there is a gender difference in the indicators of nutrition status and the level of physical activity (PA) of primary education students. The survey was conducted on 107 students (59 girls and 48 boys) over period of four years. The measurement was carried out for 4 years in a row in February. To determine nutritional status of students, the body height, the body mass, the skin folds of the upper arm and the back were all measured. Body mass index was calculated as a ratio of body mass and the square of body height, while the percentage of body fat was calculated from the sum of skin folds on the back and upper arm. The circumference of the upper arm and the circumference of the forearm were also measured. The level of PA was tested by Fels survey questionnaire for children and adolescents. ANOVA for repeated measurements was performed to see if gender differences existed in nutrition status and body activity levels over a period of four years. Research has shown that there is no difference by gender in the level of physical activity, but there are some differences in indicators of nutritional status. More precisely, there is a significant gender difference in body height variable and it is seen that boys throughout the primary education are slightly higher than girls. In the variables of the body's volume, there was a significant gender difference in the circumference of the forearm, while in the upper arm there was no difference. During the first three grades, girls had a significantly higher percentage of body fat. However, in the fourth grade the percentage of body fat of the boys has increased so in the end, there was no gender difference. There were no significant gender differences in the physical activity variables. It can be concluded that at the time of primary education, sexual dimorphism is not as pronounced as in puberty. This is one of the reasons why a lot more research was conducted on adolescents.