TREND CHANGE IN THE MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF BOYS AGED SEVEN TO TEN

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine the trend change in the morphological features of boys aged 7 to 10, of various nutritional status, with particular emphasis on the trend of occurrence of obesity among the same population. The sample consisted of 1164 boys, divided into four sub-groups (based on their age), and then each sub-group was further divided into three groups depending on their nutritional status. Four morphological factors were measured: the longitudinal, transversal and circular dimensionality of the skeleton, body mass and subcutaneous fat tissue. They were used to determine the morphological characteristics of the participants. The data were processed using the SPSS 20.0 statistics program. To determine the dynamics of change in the increasing or decreasing continuum, a trend analysis was used. By analyzing and evaluating the results obtained during the course of this study, differences in morphological characteristics were determined between children with normal body mass, overweight children and obese children of various ages. The dynamic of the change in the aforementioned characteristics in most morphological spaces of the boys indicated a continued increase that accompanies the age of the participants. Among the participants with normal body mass and overweight participants, a discontinued form of development among the morphological characteristics was noted. The discontinued form of development is visible among obese participants in the space which refers to measuring subcutaneous fat tissue. A significantly greater annual increase in body fat, compared to the average, was also noted.