[Metric index in the evaluation of body composition in 7-8-year-old children]

The classification of the body constitution of then 7-8 years old school children in Moscow and Berlin (416 persons) was carried out using the metric index. The metric index, based on the data of the body length, transversal and sagittal diameters of the chests and the age sex of children, clearly indicated the common tendency in the distribution of body constitution types in connection with the lepto- and picnomorphy. Correlation of the body constitution with the physical development was also found, its coefficients are 0.624--for girls and 0.500--for boys.