Nationwide stature estimation from armspan measurements in Albanian youngsters / Estimación de estatura a nivel nacional a partir de mediciones de envergadura en jóvenes albaneses

The purpose of this research is to examine stature in both Albanian sexes as well as its association with arm span, as an alternative to estimating stature. A total of 445 individuals (266 boys and 179 girls) participated in this research. The anthropometric measurements were taken according to the protocol of ISAK. The relationships between stature and arm span were determined using simple correlation coefficients at a 95 % confidence interval. Then a linear regression analysis was carried out to examine extent to which arm span can reliably predict stature. Results displayed that Albanian boys are 176.57±7.36 cm tall and have an arm span of 179.98±9.41 cm, while Albanian girls are 166.84±9.28 cm tall and have an arm span of 167.53±10.34 cm. The results have shown that both sexes made Albanians a tall nation but not even close to their male compatriots from Kosovo that are almost 3 centimeters taller, while the results in female population are opposite. Moreover, the arm span reliably predicts stature in both sexes, which confirms a high R-square (%) for the boys (73.4) as well as for the girls (78.8).

El objetivo de esta investigación fue examinar la estatura en individuos de ambos sexos albaneses, además de su asociación con la extensión del brazo, como una alternativa a la estimación de la estatura. Un total de 445 individuos (266 niños y 179 niñas) participaron en esta investigación. Las medidas antropométricas se tomaron de acuerdo con el protocolo de ISAK. Las relaciones entre la estatura y el brazo se determinaron utilizando coeficientes de correlación simples en un intervalo de confianza del 95 %. Luego se realizó un análisis de regresión lineal para examinar en qué medida el brazo puede predecir de manera confiable la estatura. Los resultados muestran que los niños albaneses miden 176,57 ± 7,36 cm de alto y tienen una medida del brazo de 179,98 ± 9,41 cm, mientras que las niñas albanesas miden 166,84 ± 9,28 cm de alto y tienen una medida del brazo de 167,53 ± 10,34 cm. Los resultados han demostrado una altura importante en ambos sexos de la población albanesa. Sin embargo, se observó que respecto de la altura los varones de Kosovo miden casi 3 centímetros más, mientras que en la población femenina se observó lo contrario. Además, la extensión del brazo predice de manera confiable la estatura en ambos sexos, lo que confirma un alto Rcuadrado (%) para los varones (73,4) y para las mujeres (78,8).

Prevalence of overweight and obesity and anthropometric reference centiles for Albanian children and adolescents living in four Balkan nation-states.

Background The extent of the obesity epidemic among youth is an important public health statistic which provides an indication of the future burden of non-communicable diseases. Many developing countries, including Albania, do not have systematic and repeated monitoring systems in operation. Methods The Balkan Survey of Inactivity in Children study is a population-based cross-sectional survey including Albanian children living in the four Balkan nation-states of Albania, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia and Montenegro. In total, 19,850 children from 49 schools were approached. The LMS method was used to provide body mass index (BMI), height, weight and waist circumference reference centiles for boys and girls. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) age- and sex-specific BMI cut-points were applied to evaluate adiposity levels. Results A sample of 18,460 participants aged 6-16 years old was available for creation of the BMI for age and sex reference centiles. The prevalence of overweight (including obesity) in the full sample was 21% (95% CI: 20%-21%) according to IOTF cut-off points and 28% (95% CI: 28%-29%) at WHO cut-off points. Overweight/obesity levels where higher in boys than in girls irrespective of the cut-off points applied (p<0.001). Noticeable between-country differences were observed with a prevalence of overweight/obesity of 40% (95% CI: 38%-42%) in Montenegro but only 20% (95% CI: 19%-21%) in Kosovo (WHO cut-off points). Conclusions Overweight/obesity is highly prevalent in Albanian children and adolescents. The apparent sex and country differences may inform public health actions.