Body Posture of Girls Aged 7-15 in Relation to Their Body Mass Index

Abstract
Despite significant theoretical resources related to bad posture in children and adolescents, the problem of abnormal spinal curvature needs to be supplemented, which is caused by a changing lifestyle. One can observe an increasing number of overweight/ obese children and this weight problem may result in a greater incidence of bad posture. This paper aims to determine the incidence of good and bad posture in girls in relation to their body weight, as well as to reveal whether excess weight/obesity predispose them to bad posture. The research involved 500 girls aged 7-15, living in Szczecin, Poland. In the assessment of body posture, Iwanowski’s spherosomatometric method was employed. Girls with correct body weight constituted 77.7% of the subjects. In 6.7% cases, an insuffi cient body weight was identifi ed. 11.3% suffered from excess weight while 4.3% of girls were obese – which totals 15.6% of the subjects. Incorrect body posture was identifi ed in 32.4% of the subjects. The highest proportion of girls with bad posture was found among 9-year-olds (38.6%), 13-year-olds (35.2%), and 15-year-olds (35.1%). Overweight and obesity did predispose the subjects to bad posture: abnormal spine curvature was found in 30.8% of overweight/ obese girls.
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Citation
Łubkowska W., Szark-Eckardt M., Żukowska H., Bendíková E., Pavlović R. Držanje tijela kod djevojčica uzrasta od 7-15 godina u odnosu na njihov indeks tjelesne mase: Body posture of girls aged 7-15 in relation to their Body Mass Index. Sportske Nauke i Zdravlje: Sports Science and Health 2015; 5(1): 5-15.
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