RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL FITNESS AND DIETARY HABITS OF EARLY SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN.

The aim of this research was to investigate whether individual dietary habits are associated with the physical fitness of early school-age children. In children and adolescents, physical fitness is negatively correlated with cardiorespiratory diseases, high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, overall obesity, skeletal health impairment, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, atherogenic lipid profile, and other metabolic risk factors. Previous research has confirmed the link between low levels of physical fitness in young people and several factors, such as improper dietary habits. Most studies investigating the impact of dietary habits on health have focused on the effect of diet on changes in weight and body composition. Skipping breakfast, snacking, or consuming sugary drinks are associated with higher body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC) in adults and children. The study was conducted on a sample of 940 participants, randomly selected from several primary schools in the Skopje region. The sample was divided into two subsamples by gender, comprising 466 male participants and 474 female participants. The study used 7 criterion variables (fitness tests) and 2 predictor variables. Differences between groups were determined by one-way multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA and ANCOVA) with partialization by age (age was treated as a fixed covariate). The results of the study showed that boys who reported eating breakfast every day showed better results in aerobic fitness, running 20 meters with progressive speed increase (20m shuttle run test - Stg), and running 20 meters with progressive speed increase (VO2 max), which was not the case for girls. Dietary habits, such as fruit consumption, did not have a statistically significant impact on physical fitness (motor status) in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]