Analysis of Nutrition of Preschool-Age and Younger School-Age Boys and Girls

IntroductionObesity is one of the main health issues the modern society is faced with (WHO, 2000), and which arises as the result of the imbalance between energy intake and consumption (Bukara-Radujkovic, & Zdravkovic, 2009). Aside from hypokinesia and inadequate nutrition, on childhood obesity also have an effect psychogenic, physiological, pathophysiological factors (Mitrovic, Pelemis, & Pelemis, 2014). Children that have increased body mass are faced with serious health risks which are life-threatening (Janssen, Katzmarzyk, & Ross, 2004; Daniels, 2006). The body mass index (BMI) is a simple index that represents the ratio of the body mass and body height, and it is normally used for classifying excessive body mass and obesity. It is defined as the ratio of the body mass and the square of the body height in meters (kg/m2). The body mass index can be regarded as an alternative for direct measuring of the body mass. Furthermore, the body mass index is a cheap and simple method to utilise. For children and young people the body mass index is calculated according to their age and gender, and it is very specific because of their growth and development. Childhood obesity has not yet been diagnosed in a proper manner, and has not been sufficiently examined, but it is known that in a ten-year period in certain countries childhood obesity doubled or tripled, and in some other countries it even quadrupled (Despotovic et al., 2013). Worldwide, obesity has more than doubled since 1980. Even 65% of the world population live in the countries in which increased weight and obesity are larger issues than famine. In 2004 the World Health Organization adopted the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, whose primary goal was the improvement of health by means of proper nutrition and physical activity. In order to successfully achieve this goal it is necessary for the national programmes to include children and young people, and the institutions created for this population are especially important for forming the habits that contribute to the preservation and improvement of health, such as proper nutrition, the promotion of physical activity or limiting the time spent in front of a screen (WHO, 2014). The most important parents' task in early development is to be the carriers of habits related to nutrition and of their changes in early childhood. The influence of the environment on children's nutrition and emergence of obesity was proved, especially eating habits of their parents as well as the influence of parents' behaviour on the emergence of childhood obesity (Anzman, Rollins, & Birch, 2010). The aim of this research is to analyse the state of nutrition of children of preschool age and the youngest school age.MethodThe research involved 142 children from Montenegro, 80 of preschool age and 62 pupils from the first grade of elementary school. Of the total number of children, there were 74 boys (52,11%) and 68 girls (47,89%). The children's state of nutrition was verified by means of BMI percentile values. The body height was measured by a stably attached height indicator (anthropometer) on which there were clearly visible marks of centimetres and millimetres. During the measurement process, the child was barefoot, only in underwear, with skin-tight heels, standing upright (with the spine in the upright position), standing on a flat, firm surface, with the head in such a position that the Frankfurt plane (the line that connects the inferior margin of the left orbit and the upper margin of the left external auditory meatus) occupied the horizontal position. The researcher who was measuring the body height was positioned on the child's left side, was controlling the position of the height indicator and the position of the child, and was lowering the slider on the height indicator down to the child's vertex. The body mass was measured by the decimal scale placed on a flat surface in a stable position. …

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