Nutrition assessment of pre-school and primary school ......Nutrition assessment of pre-school and primary school children practising artistic gymnastics Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Emilia

Nutrition assessment

of pre-school and primary school children

practising artistic gymnastics

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Emilia Pavlova, PhD

Scientific consultant: D-r Lubomir Petrov, PhDPhysiology and Biochemistry Department, NSA

Author: Stefan Kolimechkov, №3333

Masters programme: Physical Education and Sports

1Master’s Thesis | National Sports Academy - Sofia, 2012

Dow

nlo

aded fro

m h

ttps:

//w

ww

.stk

-sport

.co.u

k

Purpose

The aim of this study was to assess, using

accessible methods for wide application in

practice, the diet of pre-school and primary

school children practising artistic gymnastics.

2National Sports Academy - Sofia, 2012

Objectives and tasks

3

Approbation and adaptation of an appropriate foodquestionnaire in order to assess diet and nutrition ofchildren;

Nutritional assessment of pre-school and primaryschool children practising artistic gymnastics;

Approbation of appropriate methods in order toassess physical development in young children;

Assessment of the physical development of pre-school and primary school children practisinggymnastics;

Assessment of nutrition and physical developmentbased on the children's training process.

National Sports Academy - Sofia, 2012

Methods

The study included 40 children, 22 boys and

18 girls, from 4 to 12 years of age,

practising artistic gymnastics in ‘Sports

Centre Levski’ in Sofia (Bulgaria).

Groups:

- Pre-school (3-6 years old)

- Primary school (7-11 years old)


Anthropometry

Height (cm), percentile and Z-score

Weight (kg), percentile and Z-score

Upper arm circumference (cm)

Skinfolds: triceps, subscapular (mm)

Dynamometry (kg, N)

BMI (kg/m2), percentile and Z-score

% Body Fat

Upper arm muscle area (сm2)


Skinfold & Dynamometer Tests


Height, weight and BMI assessment

We used specialised software prepared by theWorld Health Organization (WHO) – ‘WHO Anthro’(for children under six years of age) and ‘WHOAnthro Plus’ (for children over six years of age), toassess height, weight and BMI in children (WHO2007). For each variable we calculated the Z-scoreand percentile score for the relevant age.

To distinguish the BMI scores, we used referencesprovided by the WHO for children from 5 to 19 yearsof age:

(overweight > +1 SD, obese > +2 SD,underweight < -2 SD, mortality <-3 SD)


Nutrition assessmentThe nutrition questionnaire which had been used for adult athletes

(Zaikova 2010, 2011, 2012) was adapted for our purposes in order to

assess the nutrient intake in children. The Food Frequency Questionnaire

(FFQ) was completed by the children’s parents. It included 24 questions

relating to the weekly consumption of basic foodstuffs and questions about

the physical activity, height and weight of children.

Based on the results, the daily intake of proteins, carbohydrates and

fats, protein/kg body weight, in addition to the total daily energy intake

(kcal/24h) was calculated .

The data concerning height and weight between our measurements and

those obtained from the parents were compared.8National Sports Academy - Sofia, 2012

ResultsAnthropometric data of the children from our study

9

Males

3-6 years

Females

3-6 years

Males

7-11 years

Females

7-11 years

Age (y) 5.00 ± 0.58 5.6 ± 0.89 7.55 ± 0.52 8.7 ± 2.11

Sport

experience (m)7.43 ± 5.35 24.6 ± 12.28 26.82 ± 15.30 14.8 ± 13.97

Height (сm) 112.17 ± 6.25 116.66 ± 5.91 126.27 ± 3.87 131.82 ± 12.09

Height

Z-score-0.28 ± 0.65 0.10 ± 0.87 -0.28 ± 0.61 -0.27 ± 1.12

Weight (kg) 18.83 ± 2.83 21.6 ± 3.11 25.54 ± 2.79 30.87 ± 10.19

Weight

Z-score-0.39 ± 0.77 0.25 ± 0.66 -0.10 ± 0.80 -0.02 ± 1.09

BMI (kg/cm2) 14.91 ± 1.30 15.79 ± 1.06 16.01 ± 1.59 17.30 ± 2.82

BMI

Z-score-0.37 ± 1.03 0.24 ± 0.67 0.04 ± 1.03 0.304 ± 0.86

Body fat (%) 12.07 ± 2.21 14.66 ± 2.74 12.53 ± 2.80 17.36 ± 5.64


Anthropometric and dynamometric data

10

Males

3-6 years

Females

3-6 years

Males

7-11 years

Females

7-11 years

Skinfold

subscapular

(mm)

4.50 ± 0.58 5.72 ± 0.93 5.14 ± 0.81 7.99 ± 4.88

Skinfold triceps

(mm)7.93 ± 1.67 9.52 ± 2.29 7.77 ± 2.16 11.25 ± 4.19

Upper arm

muscle area

(сm2)

16.35 ± 2.11 20.19 ± 3.84 21.80 ± 2.75 25.57 ± 7.23

Grip force

Left hand (N)69.37 ± 12.48 79.26 ± 18.27 103.36 ± 28.46 93.29 ± 16.50

Grip force

Right hand (N)83.39 ± 39.65 84.37 ± 17.48 111.92 ± 28.33 100.45 ± 26.2


BMI Z-scores for the children under study

11

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Num

ber

of ch

ildre

n

BMI Z-scores

< -2 -2 to -1 -1 to 0 0 to 1 1 to 2 > 2


3-6 years of

age, urban

population,

Bulgaria 1997

3-6 years of

age, children

under study

6-10 years of

age, urban

population,

Bulgaria 1997

6-10 years of

age, children

under study

Expected energy

expenditure

(kcal/24 h)

1423 ± 243 1558 ± 135.9

Energy intake

(kcal/24 h)1740 ± 479 1503 ± 330 2069 ± 518 1831 ± 432.2

Protein (Е%) 10.5 16.0 ± 1.7 10.7 16.1 ± 2.4

Fat (E%) 37.3 33.3 ± 3.9 40.2 34.4 ± 4.5

Carbohydrates (E %) 52.2 48.4 ± 4.7 49.1 47.3 ± 5.6

Protein

(g/kg body weight)3.2 ± 0.9 2.9 ± 0.9

Protein (g/day) 46.2 ± 12.3 60.4 ± 14.7 55.6 ± 14.7 73.9 ± 19.1

Fat (g) 72.6 ± 21.6 55.6 ± 12.9 92.4 ± 29.5 70.0 ± 18.0

Carbohydrates (g) 228 ± 70 182 ± 45.6 254 ± 72 217.1 ± 59.3

Food intake data of the children from our study and children of the same

age group from the Nutritional Survey of the population of Bulgaria 1997


Boys (6-10 years old),

< 2 years sport experience

Competitors (6-10 years old),

> 2 years sport experience

Expected energy

expenditure (kcal/24 h)1458 ± 84.5 1557 ± 149.5

Energy intake

(kcal/24 h)1733 ± 482.9 1868 ± 464.0

Protein (Е%) 18.0 ± 3.0 15.3 ± 1.7

Fat (E%) 34.5 ± 4.0 34.4 ± 5.3

Carbohydrates (E%) 45.2 ± 6.4 48.4 ± 5.7

Protein

(g/kg body weight)3.1 ± 0.90 2.7 ± 0.7

Protein (g/day) 76.9 ± 19.5 71.3 ± 18.3

Carbohydrates (g) 196.8 ± 68.0 226.0 ± 61.2

Fat (g) 66.6 ± 20.1 71.6 ± 21.4

Food intake data of boys with less than 2 years sport experience in gymnastics,

and boys who are competitors with sport experience greater than 2 years


14

8.0

25.2

15.7

20.5

10.512.4

7.6

27.1

16.3

23.7

12.4 12.9

0

5

10

15

20

25

30под 2 г. спортен стаж

над 2 г. спортен стаж

*

Age Weight BMI UAMA Grip force (kg) Grip force (kg)

(kg) (kg/cm2) (cm2) Left hand Right hand

< 2 years sport experience

> 2 years sport experience

Anthropometric and dynamometric data of primary school boys with less

than 2 years sport experience in gymnastics (n=13), and boys who are

competitors with sport experience greater than 2 years (n=6). (* p < 0.05)



Group Competitors Overweight children

Average ± SD n Average ± SD n t-test

Energy

expenditure

(kcal/kg/24h)

70.16± 8.82 13.00 48.73±8.98 6.00 p<0.001

Energy intake

(kcal/kg/24h)72.32± 21.19 13 63.65±15.28 6 p>0.05

Protein

(g/kg)2.87± 0.86 13 2.57±0.80 6 p>0.05

Fat

(g/kg)2.65± 0.88 13 2.30±0.50 6 p>0.05

Carbohydrates

(g/kg)8.86± 2.62 13 7.86±2.02 6 p>0.05

Energy expenditure and energy intake; protein, fat and carbohydrate / kg

body weight (Average ± SD) in the overweight children (n=6) and

children who are competitors (n=13)


BMI Z-score and ratio (energy intake)/(energy expenditure) in the overweight

children (n=6) and the children who are competitors (boys and girls, n=13)

* p < 0.05; *** p < 0.001

17

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

BMI Z-score Energy (intake / calculated

expenditure)

0.13

1.031.29

1.27

Athletes (n=13) Overweight (n=6)


Average age, sports experience (months) and energy proportion of the

essential nutrients in overweight children (n=6) and young athletes (boys

and girls, n=13)

18

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Age (y) Sports

experience

Protein % Fat % Carbohydrates

%

7.0

29.5

15.9

32.9

49.2

8.5 8.3

16.0

32.7

49.4

Athletes Overweight


Conclusions and recommendations

19

We recommend that weight and height in children

should be measured by a coach or a health

professional;

The BMI does not assess weight adequately in

some child athletes with greater muscle mass;

The amount of aerobic exercise in training sessions

should be increased for overweight children;

The correct assessment of energy expenditure

needs more accurate calculation including any

extra physical activity;


20

The food questionnaire keeps parents interested

in adopting a healthy diet and adequate levels

of physical activity for their children;

The nutrition questionnaire which was used

gives a good indication of the average intake of

the main food groups, nutrients and energy;

We recommend that coaches should use their

authority to encourage children to adopt a

healthier diet;

We recommend that more attention should be

given to children's dental health including

brushing teeth and chewing food.


You are what you eat!

Be active, do sports, feel great.

Repeat!

Thank You

21Master’s Thesis | National Sports Academy - Sofia, 2012

Dow

nlo

aded fro

m h

ttps:

//w

ww

.stk

-sport

.co.u

k

Documents

Nutrition assessment of pre-school and primary school ......Nutrition assessment of pre-school and primary school children practising artistic gymnastics Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Emilia