Hygienic assessment of the physical development of children and adolescents as one of the directions of the scientific activities of the department of general hygiene and ecology of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National medical university (for the 125th Anniversary of the department)
Authors:   Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Fedorenko V.I. 
Published: November 2024

Objective is to highlight the results of scientific research on the hygienic assessment of the physical development of children and adolescents performed at the Department of General Hygiene and Ecology of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University Materials and methods. Printed scientific works, abstracts, scientific research reports. Methods – search, analytical, descriptive. Results. 125 years have passed since the founding of the Department of General Hygiene and Ecology of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University. Hygienic assessment of the physical development of children and adolescents has become one of the important directions of scientific activity of the department. In the late 40s of the twentieth century, the physical development of students of craft and factory colleges, factory training schools, and young men and women who worked at manufacturing enterprises was studied. It was found that young men and women who worked had better indicators of physical development. Their anthropometric indicators significantly exceeded those of peers in 1923. The physical development of boys and girls aged 4-6 in Lviv was studied in 1995-1996, in rural areas of Lviv region – in 1998-1999. It was found that 71.2%-71.6% of preschoolers had normal physical development. In particular, 72.4% of boys and 70.0% of girls who were residents of the city, 70.6% of boys and 72.6% of girls who were residents of rural areas. Deficits of body weight of the first degree were found in 38.7%, excess body weight of the first degree in 29.9% of children from Lviv, and among children from rural areas – 34.6% and 32.8% respectively. Rural children were shorter and had a lower body weight than urban children. From 1969-1971 until 1995-1996, urban children's body weight decreased by 1 kg on average. Among the examined male and female primary school students (2003-2005), 73.5% had normal physical development at entering school, 67.8% in the second grade, and 66.2% in the third grade. The number of individuals with tall height and excess body weight of the I and II degrees has increased. According to the retrospective analysis of anthropometric parameters compared to 1969-1971 a tendency to deceleration was revealed. Among the examined schoolboys and schoolgirls in 2014-2015 68.9% of 7-year-olds, 64.1% of 8-year-olds, 70.5% of 9-year-olds and 68.7% of 10-year-olds had an average height, harmonious development among 7-year-old boys amounted to 69, 8%, girls – 66.1%, 8-year-olds – 65.9% and 64.6%, 9-year-olds – 72.6% and 65.8%, respectively, 10-year-old boys had the smallest share of harmonious physical development – 50.6%, and girls – 59.4%. Dynamics of anthropometric indicators from 1967-1969 to 2014-2015 was characterized by processes of acceleration against the background of astenization and gracefulization of children. Growth processes of anthropometric indicators took place unevenly. The lowest indicators of height and body weight in children were observed from 1992 to 1996, the highest – in 2014-2015. Nowadays children are taller and have more body weight than their peers 19-49 years ago. Among the examined schoolboys and schoolgirls of secondary school age (2018-2020), 74.5% and 77.3% of average height were found, respectively, 53.7% of schoolboys and 58.5% of 11-year-old schoolgirls had harmonious development, 12-year-olds – 60.5% and 56.3%, respectively, 14-year-olds – the share of harmonious development amounted to 79.3%. 16.5% of 11-year-old boys and 15.4% of girls, 11.4% and 16.9% of 12-year-olds, 19.6% and 16.0% of 14-year-old schoolchildren were overweight. Disharmonious physical development of schoolchildren is caused by an excess or deficit of body weight of the I and II degrees, an increase or decrease in the circumference of the chest of the I and II degrees, and their combinations. The dynamics of the physical development of schoolboys and schoolgirls is characterized by processes of acceleration – a clear regularity of the increase in height and body weight of children from 1996 to 2020 has been traced. Territorial peculiarities of physical development have been revealed. Regional scales of regression by height were developed. Conclusions. The majority of the surveyed children and adolescents have harmonious physical development. At the present stage, the processes of acceleration of physical development have been identified. To assess the physical development of preschoolers, primary and secondary schoolchildren, regional regression scales by height were developed. Keywords. Department of general hygiene with ecology, physical development, boys, girls, schoolboys, schoolgirls.