abstract ok.indd - eusuhm

LONG TERM EVALUATION OF NUTRITION STATUS OF LJUBLJANA REGION GENERATION SAMPLE WITH THE AIM OF
BODY MASS INDEX
B. Suhadolnik, MD, MSc, Ljubljana
Introduction: Childhood obesity may result in numerous diseases, which occur as early consequences
of obesity and increased risk of development of diseases and consequential deaths
in adult age.
Intent and objective: With the intent to contribute to the formation of the National strategy and
expert propositions for introduction of primary and secondary prevention of overweight and
obesity in Slovenia we set our objective to evaluate nutritional status, determine the structure
and distribution into different categories of nutrition on a generational sample of children in
Ljubljana and to establish whether with the bout of growth the overweight transfer into normally
nourished and the obese into overweight according to the relative change of the BMI centile
class. To get to know the dynamics of nutrition for the age interval of 6 to 18 years. To evaluate
the results of systematic examinations according to the British BMI standard and in regards
to the possibilities of preventive measures from the viewpoint of prevention and elimination of
overweight and obesity and public health measures in this area.
Examinees and methods: On a random generation sample of 245 healthy children in Ljubljana,
born in the year of 1982, we evaluated in time intervals the prevalence of overweight and
obesity on the basis of body mass index (BMI) by the British standards. The selected sample
of children was followed up in the long term from the age of 6 to 18 within the scope of regular
systematic examinations every two years. We evaluated the nutritional status in the time
intervals - with the aid of anthropological measurements, calculated the body mass index and
determined its value within the British standards centile curve. We studied the effect of physical
activity of children on the classification of the subjects into the group of overweight and
obese.
Results: We determined, that overweight and obesity in Slovenian children are considerable
public health issues. The prevalence of overweight boys within the age interval of 6 to 18 years
fluctuates between 2,1 and 14,7 % and of overweight girls between 5,4 and 9,5 %, obese are
between 2,1 and 6,4 % boys and between 1,8 and 3,5 % girls. In the fifth grade of primary
school cumulatively and in the third year of the secondary school cumulatively and especially
with boys we can argue, that the overweight and obese subjects are less physically active in
comparison with subjects, who actively engage in sports. Overweight and obese subjects remain
in the classes of overweight and obese even after the bout of growth.
Conclusion: We determined, that the obese and overweight children even after completed
adolescent bout of growth remain in the centile classes of overweight and obese children/
adolescents and that less physically active children are more often classified among overweight
and obese. We established, that the regular systematic examinations of children and
adolescents should be doctrinarily improved, the acknowledged population of overweight and
obese children should be fully examined (in-depth personal and family history, social
history, lifestyle, serum lipids, fasting blood glucose, measurements of blood pressure,
...), objective measures should be taken, the children should be directed into
programs of secondary prevention, followed-up and evaluated.
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