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5. ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MOSCOW SCHOOLCHILDREN AGED 8–18 YEARS (ON THE RESULTS OF LONGITUDINAL STUDIES)

ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MOSCOW SCHOOLCHILDREN AGED 8–18 YEARS (ON THE RESULTS OF LONGITUDINAL STUDIES)

Milushkina Olga (1,2), Bokareva Nataliya (1,2), Skoblina Natalya (1)

1) Scientific Centre of Children Health, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; 2) Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia

Milushkina Olga, e-mail: milushkina_o@rsmu.ru.

Abstract

The study of physical development in longitudinal researches is carried out with the aim to determine the dynamics of changes of anthropometric indicators, the level of biological maturation and functional indicators of children and adolescents in different time intervals. The processes of physical and sexual development are interconnected and reflect the general patterns of growth and development but at the same time they significantly depend on social, economic, sanitary, hygienic and other conditions, which influence is mostly defined by human age. During three longitudinal studies of physical development of Moscow schoolchildren (1960-1969, 1982–1991 and 2003–2013) the indicators of body mass and length, chest circumference, ratios, stages of biological development and muscular strength of the right hand were evaluated. The 10-year time scale of the observations allows determining the vector of changes of somatic development, puberty and functional capacities of children from decade to decade. The third longitudinal study of physical development of Moscow children and adolescents shows that modern schoolchildren exceed their peers of the 1960’s and 1980’s in main anthropologic indicators (body mass and length, chest girth) and the level of biological development (menarcheal age and the degree of development of the secondary sexual characters at an earlier age). The results of the studies show a change of body proportions in modern schoolchildren: the increase of body length is combined with the increase in leg length. During longitudinal observations of 2003-2013 a significant decrease of functional indicators (of hand strength) was found in children of all age groups. The findings dictate the necessity of new modern references for the assessment of physical development, reconsidering of normatives of biological development of schoolchildren and searching for the reasons of decrease in functional indicators.

Keywords

longitudinal studies, physical development, level of biological development, dynamometry

Цит.: Milushkina Olga, Bokareva Nataliya, Skoblina Natalya ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MOSCOW SCHOOLCHILDREN AGED 8–18 YEARS (ON THE RESULTS OF LONGITUDINAL STUDIES) // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2014; 3/2014; с. 56-56