Nutritional status of preschool children

Abstract

Objective. The aim of this research was the analysis of nutritional status of preschool children during the systematic examination for enrollment in the first grade of elementary school. Methods. The 212 children born in the period from 01/03/2002 to 28/02/2003, and 304 children born in the period from 01/03/2003 to 28/02/2004 were included. Height and weight of children were measured in March 2009 (older children) and March 2010 (younger children) in the Pediatric Department of Health Center Curpija. Data about parents' employment, nutrition and organization of leisure time as well as physical activity were also obtained. The analysis included descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing, at p=<0.05. Results. The incidence of obesity, overall, was 5.04% and the incidence of overweight children was 10.08%. In the subgroup of girls, there were 25 obese children (9.96%) and 13 overweight children (5.18%). In the subgroup of boys, there were 13 obese (5.28%) and 26 overweight children (9.81%). Between boys and girls, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of obese or overweight. With tested factors, individual foods (dietary habits) were not significantly more common in overweight children, but overall, a certain type (form) of diet (combination of individual foods) was represented differently in children with normal body weight and the others. Parents' employment as well as physical activity were also not significantly different, but factor of time spent watching TV and working at computers was a very significant factor in childhood obesity. Conclusion. The results of this study suggest that there are problems with excessive weight gain in children entering the first grade of elementary school.