Integration in European Retail Banking : Evidence from savings and lending rates to non-financial corporations

The aim of this paper is to investigate the integration process in the European Union retail banking sector during the period 1995-2008, by analysing deposit and lending rates to nonfinancial corporations which represent one of the main constituents of retail banking. An important contribution of the paper is the application of the recently developed Phillips and Sul (2007a) panel convergence methodology which has not hitherto been employed in this area. This method analyses the degree as well as the speed of convergence, identifies the presence of club formation, and measures the behaviour of each country’s transition path relative to the panel average. The results obtained point to the presence of close convergence in all deposit rates and in the short-term lending rates to non-financial corporations. However, we also detect the presence of heterogeneity in the European retail banking sector with notably some diverse convergence patterns observed for the transition paths for the deposit and lending rates with longer maturities.Submitted Versio

Assessing physical activity and sedentary lifestyle behaviours for children and adolescents living in a district of Poland. What are the key determinants for improving health?

Introduction. Adequate levels of physical activity throughout an individual’s life ensure an optimal state of health. Only 30% of adolescents and 10% of adults perform sufficient physical activity to facilitate proper physical, psychological/mental and emotional development. Objective. Determining physical activity behaviour in children and adolescents through surveying the opinions of school pupils and parents, in order to lend support for optimised educational programmes designed to promote healthy lifestyle behaviour, as well as establishing consistent answers. Materials and Methods. A randomised survey was conducted on two groups of n=1100 pupil subjects, each attending elementary or secondary school, with the former in Classes 5 and 6, whereas the latter were aged between 16–19 years old; in both instances parents were also included in the survey. All subjects came from the Kalisz District in western-central Poland, and were divided into those living in the city of Kalisz and those in the surrounding rural areas. Results. It was found that 87%, 96% and 89% of elementary, middle and secondary school pupils, respectively, participated in Physical Education (PE) lessons. The numbers of pupils who daily, or almost daily, spent time on a computer, were 52%, 60% and 70%, respectively, for elementary, middle and secondary schools, and likewise 70%, 62% and 48% for watching TV. Conclusions; It is vital that education programmes with a focus on a healthy lifestyle are introduced and targeted at teenagers in order to promote physical activity during the crucial time of the body’s development. The period of maturing into adulthood is particularly crucial for acquiring the right knowledge, convictions, skills and attitudes that help shape a pro-healthy lifestyle in later years

Nutrition-related health behaviours and prevalence of overweight and obesity among Polish children and adolescents

Introduction. An adequate mode of nutrition is among the most important environmental factors affecting the development of Man and maintenance of a good health status. An improper selection of nutrients and irregular consumption of meals may lead to overweight and obesity. Objective. The characteristics of health behaviours of the examined population of schoolchildren, with consideration of nutrition and body weight disorders. A comparison of the opinions of schoolchildren and their parents concerning health behaviours. Development of guidelines for educational programmes carried out in the place of residence of the population of schoolchildren and their parents. Materials and method. The survey covered a randomised group of schoolchildren attending elementary and secondary schools in the Kalisz Province and province of the city of Kalisz. The study was conducted in May and June 2009, in a randomly selected representative group of 1,100 boys and girls from classes V and VI of elementary schools, and 1,100 secondary school adolescents aged 16–19 and their parents. The studies of schoolchildren attending elementary and secondary schools were compared with the all-Polish studies of junior high school adolescents in the school year 2006–2007. Results. The respondents most often consumed 3–4 meals; however, as many as 26% of junior high school adolescents and 27% of secondary school adolescents admitted that they consume only one meal daily. The schoolchildren show inadequate nutritional habits concerning an insufficient consumption of fruits, vegetables and fish, in favour of high calorific meals and sweet snacks and drinks. Parents improperly assess the body weight of their children and perceive them as slimmer, which is not confirmed by the BMI value for age and gender. Conclusions. Systematic monitoring and analysis of changes in the health behaviours of adolescents should be a basis for planning health education and promotion programmes. Educational programmes concerning various aspects of health should be implemented in an organized and complementary way, directed not only at schools, but also at entire families and local communities. Knowledge, beliefs, skills and attitudes towards health acquired during the period of adolescence decide about life style in adulthood

Impact of the 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics Guideline on Hypertension Prevalence compared with the Fourth Report in an International Cohort

In 2017, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated the clinical practice guideline for high blood pressure (BP) in the pediatric population. In this study, we compared the difference in prevalence of elevated and hypertensive BP values defined by the 2017 AAP guideline and the 2004 Fourth Report and estimated the cardiovascular risk associated with the reclassification of BP status defined by the AAP guideline. A total of 47 200 children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years from 6 countries (China, India, Iran, Korea, Poland, and Tunisia) were included in this study. Elevated BP and hypertension were defined according to 2 guidelines. In addition, 1606 children from China, Iran, and Korea who were reclassified upward by the AAP guideline compared with the Fourth Report and for whom laboratory data were available were 1:1 matched with children from the same countries who were normotensive by both guidelines. Compared with the Fourth Report, the prevalence of elevated BP defined by the AAP guideline was lower (14.9% versus 8.6%), whereas the prevalence of stages 1 and 2 hypertension was higher (stage 1, 6.6% versus 14.5%; stage 2, 0.4% versus 1.7%). Additionally, comparison of laboratory data in the case-control study showed that children who were reclassified upward were more likely to have adverse lipid profiles and high fasting blood glucose compared with normotensive children. In conclusion, the prevalence of elevated BP and hypertension varied significantly between both guidelines. Applying the new AAP guideline could identify more children with hypertension who are at increased cardiovascular risk

Body mass index percentiles and elevated blood pressure among children and adolescents

It is well established that obesity is associated with an increased risk of elevated and high blood pressure (BP) in children and adolescents. However, it is uncertain whether there is an increase in the risk of elevated and high BP associated with an increase of body mass index (BMI) among children and adolescents whose BMI is in the accepted normal range. Data were available for 58 899 children and adolescents aged 6-17 years from seven national cross-sectional surveys in China, India, Iran, Korea, Poland, Tunisia, and the United States. The subjects were divided into eight percentile subgroups according to their BMI levels based on the World Health Organization recommendations. Elevated BP and high BP were defined using the 2016 international child BP criteria. Compared with the reference subgroup of the 5th-24th percentiles, the odds ratios (ORs) for high BP were 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-1.41; P < 0.001) in the 25th-49th percentile subgroup, 1.55 (95% CI, 1.39-1.73; P < 0.001) in the 50th-74th percentile subgroup, and 2.17 (95% CI, 1.92-2.46; P < 0.001) in the 75th-84th percentile subgroup, respectively, after adjustment for sex, age, race/ethnicity, height and country. Additionally, the corresponding ORs for elevated BP were 1.21 (95% CI, 1.10-1.32; P < 0.001), 1.55 (95% CI, 1.42-1.69; P < 0.001), and 1.80 (95% CI, 1.62-2.01; P < 0.001), respectively. In conclusion, a BMI in the 25th-84th percentiles, within the accepted normal weight range, was associated with an increased risk of elevated and high BP among children and adolescents. It is important for children and adolescents to keep a BMI at a low level in order to prevent and control hypertension