Original paper
Analysis of longitudinal data of height z-scores in kindergarten children – A pilot study
Czernitzki, Anna-Franziska; Pospisil, Christina; Musalek, Martin; Mumm, Rebekka; Scheffler, Christiane
Anthropologischer Anzeiger Volume 74 No. 2 (2017), p. 109 - 112
published: Jul 1, 2017
published online: May 8, 2017
manuscript accepted: Nov 25, 2016
manuscript revision received: Nov 24, 2016
manuscript revision requested: Sep 6, 2016
manuscript received: Sep 6, 2016
DOI: 10.1127/anthranz/2017/0708
ArtNo. ESP140007402002, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Abstract Changes in body height throughout extended historic periods are very complex and dynamic processes. This pilot study aimed to investigate the pattern of longitudinal height z-scores changes in children before and after entering kindergarten. In summer 2016, we measured height and weight of 32 children from 4 groups of two kindergartens aged 3–6 years. All ages were centered according to the age of entry into the kindergarten. For each child we determined mean z-scores for height before and after entering the kindergarten, and assessed the variances for each kindergarten group. Twenty-two children targeted in height z-scores towards average height of their respective kindergarten group, 10 children did not. Due to the small numbers, the convergence in height variance however, remained insignificant (chi-squared independence test, p = 0.127). Additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm this pilot study.
Keywords
Height z-score • kindergarten children • secular trend • strategic growth adjustment • social signal