Intergenerational changes in body height, body mass, and body mass index in an understudied population.

Objectives: Secular trends in body height have been proved indicative of socio-economic development of a country or a region, as well as of childhood and adolescent (mal)nutrition. Being taller has been associated with enhanced longevity, with several body height related factors involved. While basic anthropometric measurements, including body height, have long been performed in developed societies, primarily in men and children, far less data are available for adults and women in particular. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to collect basic anthropometric data related to the assessment of nutritional status of adult population, both men and women, to establish normative anthropometric data, and provide intergenerational analysis for height, body mass, and body mass index (BMI) of adults of both genders. Subjects and methods: Body height and body mass data of the participating 845 volunteers were collected from March 2017 to April 2018 by trained interviewers during home visits. BMI and gender-related percentile values were calculated, and percentile curves constructed. The protocol of the study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Republic of Slovenia. Results: Eleven weighted percentile values (3, 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, 75, 85, 90, 95, and 97) for body height, body mass, and BMI are presented, as are the non-weighted percentile curves for these parameters for both, adult men and women. Secular trends and age-related height loss of the reported parameters are being discussed. Conclusion: The reported percentile values provide an insight into the secular trend of body height, mass, and BMI of an understudied population, i.e. adults of both genders in a transitional society. As such, they can be useful to researchers, ergonomic professionals, health programme coordinators, and policy makers.

Fat tissue on the march: secular trend of body circumferences and skinfold thicknesses in Slovenia over the 70 years period.

Introduction: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among young adults has increased dramatically in recent decades. The survey examined anthropometric indicators of fat tissue amount in the population of adult males and females from Slovenia from 1950 to 2019. Methods: From a large anthropometric database body height, body mass, seven circumferences (C: waist, hip, relaxed and flexed upper arm, forearm, middle thigh, medial calf) and seven skinfold thicknesses (SFT: triceps, biceps, subscapular, iliac crest, supraspinale, front thigh and medial calf) were obtained in different combinations for more than 3400 males and almost 4600 females of age 18 to 29 years, measured in the years between 1950 and 2019. To evaluate the secular trend, data were classified into 10-year periods and compared with ANOVA. Results: Body mass, waist-to-height ratio, waist-to-hip ratio, waist C, relaxed and flexed upper arm C, calf C, Triceps/subscapular ratio, biceps SFT, supraspinale SFT, front thigh SFT, and medial calf SFT increased (p < 0.001) over the last 70 years, however, thigh C decreased (p < 0.001) over the last 30 years. Body mass index and forearm C increased in males and decreased in females. Triceps and subscapular SFT`s increased till 2009 and then decreased in next decade in both sexes. Body fat % increased over the 70-years observed period from 12% to almost 15% in males and from 24% to more than 26% in females. Conclusion: From 1950 to 2009 or even to 2019, large amount of body fat clearly became more prevalent in young adults from Slovenia, which mostly is in line with secular trend in fat tissue in other parts of the world; however, in many measurements this trend slows down or even reverses after 2009 in Slovenia. Slovenian population appears to be leaner compared to other populations.

Changes in the Growth and Development of Adolescents in a Country in Socio-Economic Transition 1993-2013.

INTRODUCTION: Changes in human growth and development depend on genetic and environmental factors. In the case of Slovenia, the environmental factors changed as a result of the period of socio-economic transition that the country underwent between 1991 and 2013. The authors used anthropometric techniques to evaluate differences in body height, proportions and sexual maturity in 1,221 adolescents aged 14 in 1993, 2003 and 2013. METHODS: Data was collected as a part of the ACDSi study, which has monitored children's somatic growth and motor development every decade over the last 40 years. RESULTS: Between 1993 and 2013, a trend (p=0.08) towards increased body height was observed in males. The comparison of age at peak height velocity (PHV) between generations demonstrated a trend (p=0.07) of earlier entry into puberty in adolescents in 2013 compared to those in 1993. The leg-to-body height ratio increased (p<0.05) with every decade in males, while in females it decreased (p<0.05) in 2013. Similar trends were observed in the leg-to-trunk ratio. Contemporary generations experienced PHV at a younger age (p<0.05), which is true for both genders even in adolescents born no more than two decades (1993 (2013) apart. In both generations, females experienced PHV sooner than their male peers. CONCLUSION: The authors assume that females of the 2013 generation reached puberty earlier than females of older generations. It is most likely that, unlike females from older generations and unlike males, they were already at the stage of trunk growth at the time of the measurements, which explains the observed changes in their trunk length, leg-to-body height and leg-to-trunk ratios in comparison to earlier generations.

Direct Comparison of (Anthropometric) Methods for the Assessment of Body Composition.

OBJECTIVE: Several methods for the assessment of body composition exist, yet they yield different results. The present study aimed to assess the extent of these differences on a sample of young, healthy subjects. We hypothesised that differences in body composition results obtained with different methods will vary to the extent that a subject can be misclassified into different nutritional categories. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Underwater weighing (UWW), bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), anthropometry (ANT), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) were used to assess body composition. An extensive list of ANT regression equations (or sets of equations) was analysed in terms of accuracy and precision relative to DXA. RESULTS: When DXA-determined body fat (BF) values were taken as a reference, UWW overestimated BF in both genders. In contrast, BIA (measured with a given bioimpedance analyser) underestimated BF in females, although BIA-determined BF did not differ from DXA in males. A huge difference in BF estimates (8-29% for females and 6-29% for males, for DXA-determined BF of 25.5% and 13.9% for females in males, respectively) was observed across a number of ANT regression equations; yet, ANT proved not to be inferior to DXA, provided that regression equations with the highest combinations of accuracy and precision were chosen. CONCLUSIONS: The study proved grounds for comparison of body composition results of young, healthy subjects, obtained with different methods and across a wide range of ANT regression equations. It also revealed a list of the most appropriate ANT regression equations for the selected sample and reported their accuracy and precision.

Microbes in Infant Gut Development: Placing Abundance Within Environmental, Clinical and Growth Parameters.

Sound and timely microbial gut colonization completes newborn's healthy metabolic programming and manifests in infant appropriate growth and weight development. Feces, collected at 3, 30, and 90 days after birth from 60 breastfed Slovenian newborns, was submitted to microbial DNA extraction and qPCR quantification of selected gut associated taxa. Multivariate regression analysis was applied to evaluate microbial dynamics with respect to infant demographic, environmental, clinical characteristics and first year growth data. Early microbial variability was marked by the proportion of Bacilli, but diminished and converged in later samples, as bifidobacteria started to prevail. The first month proportions of enterococci were associated with maternity hospital locality and supplementation of breastfeeding with formulae, while Enterococcus faecalis proportion reflected the mode of delivery. Group Bacteroides-Prevotella proportion was associated with infant weight and ponderal index at first month. Infant mixed feeding pattern and health issues within the first month revealed the most profound and extended microbial perturbations. Our findings raise concerns over the ability of the early feeding supplementation to emulate and support the gut microbiota in a way similar to the exclusively breastfed infants. Additionally, practicing supplementation beyond the first month also manifested in higher first year weight and weight gain Z-score.

Impact of prematurity on exercise capacity and agility of children and youth aged 8 to 18.

BACKGROUND: Preterm (PT) birth and low birth mass (LBW) can impair growth and development of children and may therefore affect their physical performance up to adulthood. AIMS: Our aim was to evaluate long-term consequences of prematurity, especially (an)aerobic exercise capacity and agility up to adulthood, by comparing premature and full-term (FT) individuals. STUDY DESIGN, SUBJECTS: From 474 subjects born in 1987, who were enrolled into a longitudinal study, 396 (178 PT and 218 FT (with 127 of them LBW)) were followed-up into their early adulthood. Their mass, respiratory status at birth, and results of SLOfit monitoring system (i.e. results of exercise capacity and agility) were monitored on a yearly basis from their age of 8 to 18years. Data were compared statistically with Student t-test or ANOVA. OUTCOME MEASURES, RESULTS: PT (or LBW) individuals performed aerobic (time of 600-meter run of females) and the majority of anaerobic tests (sit-ups, standing broad jump, and time of 60-meter run, but not bent arm hang) worse (p<0.05) than FT individuals. Before puberty, however, the agility and fine motor tests (arm plate tapping, polygon backwards, and standing reach touch) were performed better (p<0.05) by PT (or LBW) females, as compared to their FT peers, with no similar results in males. CONCLUSIONS: Our results clearly demonstrate that prematurity (especially extreme prematurity) diminishes exercise capacity and agility on the long-term scale, therefore, PT children should be encouraged towards more regular participation in physical activities from early childhood onwards.