Anthropometric, nutritional and physical performance assessment in school children.

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The stage of childhood is characterized by slow, constant and progressive growth with an increase in psychosocial maturity; generally, children participate in different school activities, where their performance is directly linked to their eating habits and physical activity.

Objective: Assess anthropometric, food and physical performance parameters in schoolchildren.

Materials and methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out. It included 369 boys and girls between the ages of 6.8 and 12.0 years from the Clara Prado Olvera Private School of the Palestine Canton-Guayas Province in Ecuador during the year 2019. For the collection of information, the food consumption frequency questionnaire was used, anthropometric measurements such as weight and height were taken, to measure physical performance, 4 tests were applied: ball throw, trunk flexion, running in meters and burpee.

Results: The research sample consisted of 170 men and 199 women who represented 46.1% and 53.9% respectively. The diet was characterized by a low consumption of dairy products, vegetables, fruits, cereals and meats. Fast foods and snacks were within normal parameters, eating as little as possible. The highest percentage of those investigated presented a normal nutritional status according to the indexes weight/age, height/age/ and BMI/age. Of the 4 physical tests applied, it was observed that 3 need improvement and statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were found when compared to gender.

Conclusions: Balanced nutrition and physical activity at school improves cognitive function, nutritional status and also allows you to obtain higher scores on standardized physical performance tests