[Physical fitness and body posture of 7-years-old children with extreme somatic parameters].

INTRODUCTION

This work is connected with chosen aspects of school readiness. This term means adequate state of child development which makes its receptive to systematic education. School readiness includes--besides psychical, emotional and social--also somatic and motor elements.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To assess the level of physical fitness and body posture of 7-years-old children with extreme somatic parameters.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A group of 524 children (245 girls and 279 boys) aged 6.86 (+/- 0.35) were examined. Body height and mass were measured and percentile individual positions were determined. Physical fitness test was also used (bend trunk, shuttle run 4 x 5 m, standing long jump, sit ups, throw of medical ball) and visual technique of body posture diagnosing was carried out. The basic statistical methods were applied.

RESULTS

Worse results in some physical fitness tests (bend trunk, shuttle run 4 x 5 m, sit ups, throw) were obtained by children with extreme body mass index (BMI) against a background of peers. The most specific defects of body posture of children with atypical somatic structure appeared: on knees and feet, in the group of children with higher body-weight proportions, more often among boys than girls.

CONCLUSIONS

Extreme height-mass parameters were more significantly reflected in physical fitness level of examined children than tall-stature or deficiency of body height. Whereas among equivocal interrelations between body posture and extreme somatic parameters stood out tendency to intensification of knees and feet defects among children with high BMI.