Body fat in children and adolescents participating in organized sports: Descriptive epidemiological study of 6048 Latvian athletes.

Background: Pressure among young athletes to meet body composition goals may lead to poor nutrition and affect growth.

Aims: To examine the proportion of body fat (%BF), measured by bioimpedance analysis, among Latvian children and adolescents participating in organized sports.

Methods: Our study had a nationally representative sample of 6048 young athletes, aged 10-17 years.

A cross sectional research on the height, weight and body mass index of children aged 5-6 years in Latvia and its secular changes during the last century.

Aim: To determine the main anthropometric parameters and their changes during the 20th and early 21st centuries for children aged 5-6 and to analyze the nutritional level of the population based on percentage.

Methods: 536 healthy Latvian 5 and 6 year old children were randomly selected and a cross sectional survey was carried out. To collect anthropometric data, the height and weight of each child was measured and BMI calculated.

Analysis of body composition of 9- and 10-year-old children in Latvia.

Background And Objective: According to the data of epidemiologic research, the prevalence of both excessive and insufficient body weight is increasing in a pediatric population leading to the growing burden of health problems due to these changes. The aim of the study was to understand the current situation of physical development of 9- and 10-year-old boys and girls in Latvia and to estimate the prevalence of underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity among young adolescents.

Material And Methods: During 2007-2009, a random sample of healthy 9-year-old (n=184) and 10-year-old (n=320) children from all regions and different socioeconomic groups of Latvia was surveyed in a cross-sectional study.