Process of developmental changes in height and weight of girls under 6 years old in villages of Gorgan city during 1998 to 2012

Abstract

Background: Developmental changes over time could be considered as the physical growth of children of a society during different generations (Simsek and et al, 2005). In this regard, the growth changes during time actually include increase of height, and weight during childhood, adolescence and decreasing the puberty age (Malina, 2004). The fundamental mechanism of developmental changes over time is not fully discovered, but the process of growth during time is considered as one of the important indicators of health in societies. Evaluating these processes could be an appropriate indicator for studying different dimensions of developmental changes in generations and also studying the relation between these changes and the environmental factors such as health condition, economic condition and social condition of the society (Simsek, 2005; Malina, 2004). Objective: In the current study in order to study the height and weight of rural children under 6 over time, the research conducted on the rural children of Gorgan city in 1998 was used as a reference. In the research conducted in 1998, the height and weight of rural children less than 6 years old were used as the children's growth indicators the same as the mentioned instructions. Results: Results of single-sample t-test are shown in table 1, and it shows that the height of 6 month-old girls in 2012 is more than the height of girls in 1998 Conclusion: The socioeconomic status of the child's family is an important factor in growth and development of the child and it affects its development.

Full text

Advances in Environmental Biology, 7(13) November 2013, Pages: 4066-4070
AENSI Journals
Advances in Environmental Biology
Journal home page: http://www.aensiweb.com/aeb.html
Correponding Author: Pezhman Ahmadi, Department of Physical Education, Shahr-e-ReyBranch, Islamic Azad
University, Tehran, Iran
E-mail: pezhman_ahmadi2001@yahoo.com
Process of Developmental Changes in Height and Weight of Girls Under 6 Years Old in
Villages of Gorgan City During 1998 to 2012
1Pezhman Ahmadi, 2SeyyedMohialdin Bahari, 2Mitra Azizimasouleh, 3Amir Dana
1Department of Physical Education, Shahr-e-ReyBranch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2Department of Physical Education, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
3Department of Physical Education, Aliabad Katoul Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran.
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received 21 September 2013
Received in revised form 25
November 2013
Accepted 29 November 2013
Available online 4 January 2014
Key words:
Height and Weight, Developmental
Changes, Girls.
Background: Developmental changes over time could be considered as the
physical growth of children of a society during different generations (Simsek and et
al
, 2005). In this regard, the growth changes during time actually include increase
of height, and weight during childhood, adolescence and decreasing the puberty age
(Malina, 2004). The fundamental mechanism of developmental changes over time is
not fully discovered, but the process of growth during time is considered as one of
the important indicators of health in societies. Evaluating these processes could be
an appropriate indicator for studying different dimensions of developmental
changes in generations and also studying the relation between these changes and the
environmental factors such as health condition, economic condition and social
condition of the society (Simsek, 2005; Malina, 2004). Objective: In the current
study in order to study the height and weight of rural children under 6 over time, the
research conducted on the rural children of Gorgan city in 1998 was used as a
reference. In the research conducted in 1998, the height and weight of rural children
less than 6 years old were used as the children’s growth indicators the same as the
mentioned instructions. Results: Results of single-sample t-test are shown in table
1, and it shows that the height of 6 month-old girls in 2012 is more than the height
of girls in 1998 Conclusion: The socioeconomic status of the child’s family is an
important factor in growth and development of the child and it affects its
development
© 2013 AENSI Publisher All rights reserved.
To Cite This Article: Pezhman Ahmadi, SeyyedMohialdin Bahari, Mitra Azizimasouleh, Amir Dana., Process of Developmental Changes
in Height and Weight of Girls Under 6 Years Old in Villages of Gorgan City During 1998 to 2012. Adv. Environ. Biol., 7(13), 4066-4070,
2013
INTRODUCTION
Several studies about growth showed that the mean of height and weight had an ascending trend over time
[15,19]. For example, the mean of height in adult Americans, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, and Eastern
Europe had nearly 1-2 cm increase per decade [20]. Growth trends in height and weight over time have
happened in all social-economic groups of Europe, Japan and USA. Also, similar trends have been observed in
Canada and Australia. Developing countries have experienced several social-economic changes. In such
countries, different developmental changes over time, such as positive or negative changes over time, or lack of
growth change over time are observable [21]. The amount and ratio of this increase do not only depend on the
location and time of measuring but also the type of anthropometry (such as height or weight) which is
considered for the studies [10]. The growth trends over time are complicate phenomena showing considerable
variability of growth and puberty processes due to the environmental conditions. Human health is affected by
two factors of genetics and environment. Genetics is very important but yet the effect of environmental factors
and nutritional conditions are to the extent that even sometimes having a role beyond the genetic factors.
Surveying the growth trends over time in children could be reflects of effect of lifestyle on the developmental
changes trend [4].
On the other hand, height and weight of a child is a good index for detecting the nutritional condition. In
order to reach the maximum normal growth children need appropriate living conditions, and any kind of
unfavorable factor could have an adverse effect on their growth. In a research, Vaghari and et al, [11] showed
that children under 6 years old in villages of Gorgan city suffer from short stature [11]. Studies conducted at the
national and regional level and in some other parts of the country also showed similar results [6]. Also the
aforesaid studies mentioned the underweight as one of the main nutritional problems of children under 6 years

4067 Pezhman Ahmadi et al, 2013
Advances in Environmental Biology, 7(13) November 2013, Pages: 4066-4070
old, but the severity of malnutrition caused by weight loss is reported less than the short stature. Thus, since the
growth trends over time are considered as one of the important health indicators of societies [4] and change in
height and weight are the outward signs of growth of children which is a good indicator for detecting the
nutritional status [11].
In order to reach maximum normal growth and development children need appropriate living conditions
and any unfavorable factor could have a negative effect on the growth and development. Malnutrition leads to
birth of unsuitable areas in physical health, mental health and growth and development. Now due to the high
nutritional information and its importance in the children’s health and growth monitoring plan, the possibility of
running the growth monitoring plans in third world countries and developing countries have become available
[3]. The change in height and weight is a good indicator for detecting the nutritional status and studying the
societies’ health. Obviously evaluating the performance and the result of growth monitoring plan of children
could have high importance and changes in height and weight over time could be reflects of the effect of
lifestyle on the growth changes trend.
Due to several reasons, studying the growth changes trend has high importance. Firstly, it is an important
indicator of public health of the society over time; secondly, it shows different aspects of changes appearing in
growth of height and weight of children over generations [10]. These changes necessitate the updating of
growth curves, because the previous height and weight curves are not good tools for evaluating the height and
weight any more [10]. Previous researches conducted in the country in this area studied the differences of height
and weight of children and adolescence nationwide during years 1990-1999, but no research has studied the
recent decade, and due to the geographical and cultural-economic diversity in Iran it seems that paying attention
to the height and weight changes trends in different parts of Iran is very necessary. A research about the
children under 6 years old in villages of Gorgan city in 1998 showed that malnutrition is still one of the main
nutritional problems of the country [11]. Thus in the current research the researcher tries to compare the height
and weight of children in villages of Gorgan city in 1998 with the height and weight of rural girls of this city in
2011, and study the height and weight changes of the rural children of Gorgan city during nearly a decade and
half, in order to evaluate the children’s growth status and also the result of the children’s monitoring growth
plans, and nutrition, and in order to provide a context for macro planning related to the change and
improvement of lifestyle of rural community. Thus the current research provides useful information for health
centers, programmers of macro plans of Golestan province in health and children’s health context.
Methodology:
54% of the population of Gorgan city lives in villages. This city contains 118 villages and among these 20
villages was chosen by systematic random sampling. The height and weight of all of the chosen girls under 6
years old were measured, totally from the total number of 21987 rural children in Gorgan city, at this age range
753 individuals were chosen as the sample.
In the current study in order to study the height and weight of rural children under 6 over time, the research
conducted on the rural children of Gorgan city in 1998 was used as a reference. In the research conducted in
1998, the height and weight of rural children less than 6 years old were used as the children’s growth indicators
the same as the mentioned instructions.
A linear measure of the stature is the distance from metatarsus to the skull which is measured from birth to
2 or 3 years old while the individual is lying down. In older children, it is measured without shoes while they
are standing and 4 points of the body (the soles of the feet, hips, shoulder, and back of the head) are connected
to the wall. Weight measurement was conducted by the least possible clothing by the help of a balance having a
pointer which is approved by the WHO and the accuracy of 0.1 kg and the height measurement with the
accuracy of 0.1 cm.
Data statistical analysis and comparing the height and weight of these two studies based on the time period
were separately conducted for each age by the use of single-sample t-test and by the help of SPSS software.
Results:
Results of single-sample t-test are shown in table 1, and it shows that the height of 6 month-old girls in
2012 is more than the height of girls in 1998 (t(164)= 8.65, p<0.05). The height of 18 month-old girls in 2012 is
more than the height of girls in 1998 (t (186) = 25.03, p<0.05). Also no significant difference exists between the
average height of 30 month-old girls in 1998 and 2012 (t(121)= -1.53, p= 0.127). Also no significant difference
was observed between the average height of 42 month-old girls in 1998 (91.28) and in 2012 (91.25) (t(70)= -
0.03, p= 0.969). The average height of 54 month-old girls in 2012 is more than the 54 month-old girls in 1998 (t
(150) = 2.002, p< 0.05). But no significant difference exists between the average height of girls in 1998 and
2012 (t (47) = -1.25, p= 0.217).

4068 Pezhman Ahmadi et al, 2013
Advances in Environmental Biology, 7(13) November 2013, Pages: 4066-4070
Table 1: Results of dependent t-test for comparing the height of girls in 1998 and 2012
Sig.
df
t
Mean and SD
Year
Variable
0.000 164 8.65 63.66 ± 9.62 1998 Height of 6 month-
old girls
65.06 ± 2.08
2012
0.000
186
25.03
75.89 ± 10.6
1998
Height of 18
month-old girls
80.31± 2.41
2012
0.127
121
- 1.53
85.31± 8.66
1998
Height of 30
month-old girls
84.81 ± 3.52
2012
0.699
79
- 0.03
91.28 ± 12.12
1998
Height of 42
month-old girls
91.25 ± 6.83
2012
0.047
150
2.002
96.98 ± 16.88
1998
Height of 54
month-old girls
97.77 ± 4.8
2012
0.217
47
- 1.25
106.52 ± 13.26
1998
Height of 66
month-old girls
105.50 ± 5.64
2012
No significant difference exists between the average weight of 6 month-old girls in 1998 (7.150) and
2012 (7.08) (t (164) = -1.04, p= 0.217), but the 18 month-old girls in 1998 were significantly heavier than the
girls in 2012 (t (186) = -6.47, p< 0.05). Also the 30 month-old girls in 1998 were significantly heavier than the
girls in 2012 (t (121) = -9.21, p< 0.05). Also the 42 month-old girls in 1998 were significantly heavier than the
girls in 2012 (t (79) = -6.51, p< 0.05). The 54 month-old girls in 1998 were significantly heavier than the girls
in 2012 (t (150) = -9.23, p< 0.05). Ultimately the 66 month-old girls in 2012 were significantly heavier than the
girls in 1998 (t (150) = 6.39, p< 0.05).
Table 2: Results of single-sample t-test for comparing the weight of girls in 1998 and 2012
Sig.
df
t
Mean and SD
Year
Variable
0.217 164 -1.04 7.15 ± 2.16 1998 Weight of 6
month-old girls
7.08 ± 0.77
2012
0.000
186
-6.47
10.64 ± 2.52
1998
Weight of 18
month-old girls
10.19 ± 0.94
2012
0.000
121
-9.21
12.88 ± 3.28
1998
Weight of 30
month-old girls
11.66 ± 1.46
2012
0.000
79
-6.51
14.20 ± 1.97
1998
Weight of 42
month-old girls
13.25 ± 1.30
2012
0.000
150
-9.23
15.81 ± 2.08
1998
Weight of 54
month-old girls
14.52 ± 1.71
2012
0.000
150
6.39
17.13 ± 2.54
1998
Weight of 66
month-old girls
19.93 ± 3.03
2012
Discussion & Conclusion:
The socioeconomic status of the child’s family is an important factor in growth and development of the
child and it affects its development. Criterion or index of socioeconomic index in different researches and in
different countries is very different, thus the appropriate index in one region or country or cultural group is not
necessarily appropriate for another place. The socioeconomic indicators used in developed countries include the
annual income of the family, the per capita income, job and education level of householder, and residence. The
current research results show that average height of girls who are 6, 18 and 54 month-old in 2012 is respectively
higher than the girls who are 6, 18 and 54 month-old in 1998. But, no significant difference was observed
between the average height of girls who are 30, 42 and 66 month-old in 1998 and 2012. Also comparing the
weight of girl in 1998 and 2012 shows that no significant difference exists between the average weight of girls
who are 6 month-old in 1998 and 2012, while the girls who are 18, 30, 42, and 54month-old in 1998 are
respectively heavier than the girls who are 18, 30, 42 and 54 month-old in 2012. But, the 66 month-old girls in
2012 were significantly heavier than the girls in 1998. Maybe one of the reasons for this disproportion in height
and weight changes is due to the more influence of environment on the weight, because height is more under the
influence of genetics. In fact, the optimal environmental conditions are important in the full outbreak of poured
gene [12]. In reviewing the results of this research this important point is hidden that when the child gets older
for example 66 month-old, both increase in height and weight is observable. Generally it is accepted that
observed changes in growth and development are good indicators of living conditions in society and especially
the nutritional and health condition. The change trends over time reveal the living conditions of a society, and
also it reveals any kind of disorder in health trends of a society. Thus, repeated measurements of development
status are very important, because they are an appreciable source for analyzing the health of a society [12]. It
seems that the international sanctions in the recent years imposed by the world powers on Iran have been an
influential factor, because when the sanctions are formed and the inflation increases, the per capita
automatically decreases. Especially the most weight loss compared to the previous years has happened in
children born in the recent months. Practitioners of development studies are completely familiar with the growth
changes trends from one generation to the other, and they have mentioned its occurrence during at least 6 last

4069 Pezhman Ahmadi et al, 2013
Advances in Environmental Biology, 7(13) November 2013, Pages: 4066-4070
generations. In between, studying the growth difference between the urban citizens and rural citizens has been
at the center of attention since past. Surveying the internal studies show that most of the studies of this area are
conducted in the age range of below 5 years old and with a little amount of sample. Although maybe the
external studies have studied a wider age range, most of these studies only indicate the growth difference
between urban citizens and rural citizens, and there are fewer studies available about the mentioned changes
over time in rural children [4].
Additionally, maybe the change in rural lifestyle is one of the influential factors, because consistent with
modernity the lifestyle in villages also change and it seems that rural families have less dependency on the
natural materials and dairies than before. For example Azkia and et al [1] showed that the tendency of
nutritional habits of villagers is toward using the urban nutritional patterns (using takeaway food, getting the
ingredients of food such as vegetables and dairies from markets and etc.) [1]. Along with this a study in China
showed that the difference between height and weight of urban and rural citizens in 1995 compared to 1985 had
a reducing difference trend [21].
Generally, in order to explain the increase of height in some age groups from 1998 to 2012 we can mention
the change in the pace of some diseases related to growth, nutritional contents (especially calcium and protein),
housing, personal health, health habits, and health cares [17,16]. Because the changes trends could be combined
with the change in the combination of studied samples over time, such as immigration, choosing sample, or
demographic characteristics [32]. It is better to conduct analyses with samples having relatively high levels.
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