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Introduction: The level of parents’ knowledge and ability to evaluate a child’s health condition is crucial when making decisions concerning physical activity levels and dietary patterns. Aim: This study assessed parents’ views versus the actual health status of their children using anthropometric examinations and performance test results. Material and methods: The research involved an examination of 8369 children aged 6–7 years and an analysis of responses provided by parents to a questionnaire of the general health status of children, their physical activity, and estimated average time spent passively. Responses were compared to the results of a performance test and anthropometric measurements, classified according to centile grids for a given age and sex. Results and discussion: In total, 85% of guardians did not notice obesity in a child whose BMI was in the 95th percentile or above. Guardians of children with very bad physical performance evaluated their general health condition as very good (42%) or good (50%), which means that 92% of guardians were not aware of their child’s very low exercise capacity. In total, 75% of guardians of children with very poor fitness believed that their child had a sufficient amount of physical activity during the day. Conclusions: Parents or guardians of children with excessive body weight have a low level of awareness of obesity and have no awareness of their children’s very low physical performance. We conclude that there is a great need for comprehensive education of societies regarding the importance of physical activity and nutrition for the health of children and youth.

Introduction The prevalence of overweight and obesity is not regularly screened among Polish children. Very few longitudinal data exist on the prevalence and increase of overweight and obesity in this population. The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected age categories of children from Gdansk, on the basis of 1992-2012 data. Material and methods The anthropometric data (body weight and height, body mass index) of 70,329 children aged between 6 and 13 years were analyzed. Data were collected during annually performed child health measurements in schools by medical staff of Gdansk Center for Health Promotion during 1992-2012. Results No constant trend to increase or decrease in the prevalence of overweight or obesity was documented in any of the studied age groups (p > 0.05). An age-related increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity was observed throughout all consecutive age categories in boys and in prepubertal girls (p < 0.05). Overweight and obesity were significantly more frequent in girls than in boys from all age categories (p < 0.05), except 12- and 13-year-old children (p = 0.173; p = 0.973), in whom no gender-specific differences were documented. Conclusions Our study did not confirm the previously reported growing tendency in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children. However, our findings point to an age-related increase in the prevalence of excess body weight in the pediatric population.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is one measure of body functions, and its assessment should play an important role in the activities associated with the promotion of physical activity as an important component of a healthy lifestyle. This study aimed to develop a reference system of the mean post-exercise heart rate (HRmean post-ex) after a 3-min step test for use in screening the cardiorespiratory fitness of 6- to 12-year-old children. The study included 14,501 children ages 6-12 years from primary schools in Gdansk. The participants were subjected to the 3-min Kasch Pulse Recovery Test (KPR Test). The reference range for the classification of cardiorespiratory fitness was developed on the basis of the age-specific percentile distribution of HRmean post-ex in 6- to 9- and 10- to 12-year-old children. This study showed that the 3-min KPR Test is easy to perform and well tolerated by school-age children. As such, it can constitute a useful tool for health promoters and educators. The presented age- and gender-specific reference range of HRmean post-ex enables the assessment and monitoring of submaximal exercise-induced changes in the cardiovascular system and, consequently, the physical fitness of a given individual.

Introduction. Neighbourhood impact on health has been the subject of many studies. They demonstrated that the health status of both adults and children depends, among other things, on the local environment. In turn, obesity in children and adolescents remains a major health problem in developed countries. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and underweight in children and adolescents (6–18-years-old) studying in schools located in different districts of Gdansk, northern Poland. Material and method. The study was conducted in the 2008–2009 school year in the 6th largest city in Poland – Gdansk (456,967 inhabitants). The study group comprised 25,609 children and adolescents, including 13,000 boys and 12,609 girls. The international standard IOTF (International Obesity Task Force) was used to determine overweight and underweight. Results. The incidence of overweight in the group was 19.15%, and of underweight 10.83%. Differences in the prevalence of these anomalies between particular Gdansk districts were statistically significant (p = 0.0000). Underweight was observed in 12.32% of the examined girls and in 9.39% of boys. The statistically significant (chi2 test) prevalence of overweight and underweight depending on the district needs further clarification. Conclusion. Knowledge of these determinants is essential for creating effective health promotion programmes. It seems that in searching for determinants in future studies, the influence of the contextual factor should be considered.