Anthropometric Indicators In Preschool Children Living In A Rural Area Of The Mari El Republic

Abstract

To characterize the physical development of children and adolescents who belong to different ethnic groups and live in different climatic and geographic and socio-economic conditions, we must use regional standards that are the most informative standards for objective assessment of their health and development. The purpose of the paper is to study particular anthropometric indicators in preschool children living in a rural area of the Mari El Republic in order to determine developmental milestones of the children’s physical development in the above-mentioned region of Russia. We conducted a cross-sectional study of somatometric indicators of physical development of children at the age of 2-6, living in a rural area of the Mari El Republic and brought up at a preschool educational institution during the daytime. We assessed the following indicators: standing height, sitting height, body mass, head circumference, and chest circumference in 82 children. When analyzing the obtained data, we used centile tables. We identified that height, as one of the physical development indicators, is at the above-average level in the children group under study, with the examined children’s body length growth rate exceeding the generally accepted standards by one year. Body mass corresponds to average values according to the generally accepted scale. Chest circumference indicators are below average standard values in almost all age groups. However, in the backdrop of accelerated body length growth, it does not indicate any disorders in the child's' physical development.