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Secular trends in body height, body weight, BMI and fat percentage in Polish university students in a period of 50 years

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  • Ewa Kalka
  • Anna Pastuszak
  • Krzysztof Buśko

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine changes in the magnitude and direction of secular trends in body height, body weight, body mass index (BMI) and fat percentage in university students from a university of technology and a university of physical education in a period of 50 years. Methods: The data were derived from the examinations of male students from the Warsaw University of Technology, conducted four times, in 1959, 1971, 1994, 2011, and male students from the Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, who were examined in 1963, 1972, 1996, and 2012. Body height, body weight and thickness of 2 skinfolds (triceps skinfold and abdomen skinfold) were measured. Body mass index (BMI) and fat percentage (FAT%) were also calculated. Results: Current university students are taller and heavier than their peers from the previous decades, with BMI remaining within the reference range. A substantial increase in fat percentage was found in both groups. Over the period of fifty years, mean fat percentage in students from the university of technology increased by 6.3% (F1,3 = 116.56, p

Suggested Citation

  • Ewa Kalka & Anna Pastuszak & Krzysztof Buśko, 2019. "Secular trends in body height, body weight, BMI and fat percentage in Polish university students in a period of 50 years," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-12, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0220514
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220514
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cole, T. J., 2003. "The secular trend in human physical growth: a biological view," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 161-168, June.
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    1. Bartowiak, Sylwia & Konarski, Jan M. & Strzelczyk, Ryszard & Malina, Robert M., 2024. "Secular change in heights of rural adults in west-central poland between 1986 and 2016: The transition from pre- to post-communism," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    2. Kirchengast, Sylvia & Waldhör, Thomas & Juan, Alfred & Yang, Lin, 2024. "Secular trends and regional pattern in body height of Austrian conscripts born between 1961 and 2002," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

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