[Body fat in children and youth in the light of some social variables]

Obesity in Poland like in other industrial countries is a serious problem. It is a result of energy transformation homeostatic disorder that brings about growth of fatty tissue mass. The aim of the research was to estimate the influence of some social variables on the level of body fat in rural children and youth. In 1998 and 1999 1333 boys and 1345 girls from chosen at random rural primary and secondary schools from Podlasie were examined. The research involved children and youth aged 7-19 in whom the following measurements of fatty skin folds were done: on biceps and triceps of the arm, on the subscula, on the abdomen, on the supraillium and on the calf. The percentage of fatty tissue in the whole body mass was estimated using the method introduced by Slaughter and coworkers in 1988. Moreover there was an environmental research done from which the following information was obtained: the birth date of every child, education of mother and father and number of children in the family. On the basis of the data received from the questionnaire boys and girls from every age category were divided into groups with primary, secondary and higher education of mother and father. However taking into consideration the number of children in the families the following groups of boys and girls were distinguished: those coming from families with one or two children, those coming from families with three or four children and those coming from families with many children. The dependence upon individual environmental factors on the level of body fat was estimated using factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA). On the basis of the analysis of the result it can be pointed out that the number of children in the family was the crucial criterion of material differentiation with reference to both boys and girls. The biggest level of body fat was described with those examined that came from families with one or two children.