Indicators of physical development in preschool-aged children over a 25-year observation period

Objective: To assess the physical development indicators of contemporary preschool-aged children and identify trends in these indicators over a 25-year observation period. Materials and methods. A comparative assessment of height and weight parameters was conducted, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated for 356 six-year-old children in the 2022–2023 academic year (155 boys and 201 girls). These data were compared with physical development indicators from 290 children (138 boys and 152 girls) assessed in the 1998–1999 academic year. Physical development was considered appropriate for age and sex when the indicators fell within the 25th to 75th percentile range. Descriptive statistical methods and Student’s t-test were used; the critical significance level was set at p < 0.05. Results. Over the 25-year observation period, an increase in overall body size was observed among six-year-old children, including significant increases in body height (boys: Student’s t = 7.19, p = 0.0001; girls: t = 7.37, p = 0.0001) and body weight (boys: t = 6.79, p = 0.0001; girls: t = 8.00, p = 0.0001), as well as in mean BMI values (boys: t = 2.70, p = 0.0073; girls: t = 3.25, p = 0.0013). Conclusion. An increase in anthropometric indicators was observed among six-year-old children in the Moscow region over the 25-year period, which may reflect improvements in living conditions. The fact that BMI values fall within the "above average" range serves as a basis for implementing health education programs aimed at both children and their parents to promote BMI monitoring and control