Nutritional status and gender differences of adolescent students

Abstract

Modern world is characterized by minimal physical activity (which is mainly reduced to the level of performing the most necessary life needs) and obesity (which has reached epidemiological characteristics). Thus, to prevent obesity and preserve human health at an early school age, it is necessary to monitor the nutritional status of children of primary school age. The aim of this study was to define the level of nutrition of the respondents and to determine the differences in body height (BH), body weight (BW), and body mass index (BMI) between the respondents in relation to gender. The sample included 105 boys and 97 girls (13.59 ± 0.30 years old), who were 8th grade students at a primary school. Three variables were analyzed, i.e., BMI, BH, and BW of the subjects. The obtained BMI values were compared with reference percentile curves (WHO, 2007), and it was determined that 34.28% of boys and 37.11% of girls were overweight (overweight and obese). Using the t-test for independent samples, it was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between boys and girls in BW and BMI. The obtained results indicated that girls had a higher percentage of BW and BMI. On average, girls were 4.53 kg heavier than boys, while BMI differed by 1.02.The difference in BH was not defined at a statistically significant level. Malnutrition and obesity are prevalent in children of pubertal age in Montenegro, which requires concrete preventive measures to preserve health at an early age.