Gender differences in the body composition of primary school children in the city of Gomel

Objective . Сompare gender differences in the component composition of the body of primary school children aged 7-10 years. Materials and methods . 96 schoolchildren aged 7-10 years (46 boys and 50 girls) were examined at the gymnasium No. 56 in Gomel. Body composition indicators were determined in pipils using bioimpedance research: body mass index (BMI), fat mass (kg), proportion of fat mass (%), lean mass (kg), cell mass (kg), proportion of cell mass (%), musculoskeletal mass (kg), proportion of skeletalmuscle mass (%), total fluid (kg), extracellular fluid (kg), intracellular fluid (kg), basal metabolism (kcal/day). Results . As a result of the study, it was found that 7-year-old boys showed a decrease in BMI compared to the norm (p<0.05), while girls had no significant differences. The body mass index in 8-year-old girls was below normal values and significantly lower compared to boys (p<0.01). In boys of all studied groups, compared with girls, the studied indicators were significantly higher (p<0.01). In 10-year-old pupils, in contrast to children of other study groups, gender differences were observed in the value of basal metabolic rate: which was significantly higher in boys by 16% (p=0.02).