[Dynamics of physical development of Chuvash rural school children (1884-1999)]

Analysis of the statistic indices height and body weight in schoolchildren has demonstrated their positive changes in all age and sex groups for 115 years. The maximum height and body weight increases are observed in the time intervals 1962-1966, 1966-1982 which show statistically significant increases in the indices in virtually age-sex groups. In the past 15 years height increases have preserved; however, their increase rate has decreased; there is a negative trend for body weight to change, which is more pronounced in girls. The findings suggest that there is a tendency for developmental acceleration to be stabilized, which are not contradictory to the global epochal processes of growth and development. The changes in body weight may be regarded as negative, which is caused by present socioeconomic problems in our country. Physical development monitoring in children and adolescents permits development and implementation of regional and federal programmes for health promotion to ensure the population's sanitary well-being.