Body Mass Index, Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Lithuanian Children and Adolescents, 1985–2002

The study provides the body mass index (BMI), the prevalence of overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) in Lithuanian children and adolescents, 1985–2002. In the 2000–2002 more than 9,000 schoolchildren of 7–18 years old were investigated in the 5 biggest towns and surrounding settlements of Lithuania. These data were compared with the 1985 data. The prevalence of OW and OB was estimated using the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-off points. The prevalence of OW in Lithuanian children and adolescents was higher among younger schoolchildren in comparison with older adolescents. OW was lower among the older girls in comparison with the older boys: 4.60%–11.50%/4.80%–13.62% in the 7–13 years girls/boys, versus 1.5%–6.60%/3.90%–9.50% in the 14–18 years old girls/boys. The prevalence of OW among younger Lithuanian adolescents did not change significantly in the last 15 years, but it slightly decreased in older boys and demonstrably diminished in older adolescent girls. In generally, the prevalence of OW among Lithuanian adolescents is low in comparison with the prevalence of OW in children from the other countries

Trends in Body Mass Index, Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Preschool Lithuanian Children, 1986–2006

The study provides the body mass index (BMI), the prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschool Lithuanian children, 1986–2006. In the 2003–2006 more than 1,000 preschool 3–6 year old children from Vilnius (the capital of Lithuania) were investigated according to the standard anthropometric methods. The prevalence of overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) was estimated according to the cut-off points recommended by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Recent data were compared with the data of preschool children from the 1986 Vilnius study and with the data from the other countries. The BMI of preschool children did not change significantly during the last 20 years, except for the statistically significant BMI increment in 6 years old girls. The prevalence of OB among preschool Lithuanian children was low (0.8%–3.7% in boys, and 0–1.9% in girls) and did not change significantly during 1986–2006. The prevalence of OW was higher in preschool girls (10.7%–18.2%) in comparison with preschool boys (6.5%–12.4%). The significant increment of the prevalence of OW was observed among the 6 years old girls from the 2006 study in comparison with the 1986 study. The possible socio-economic reasons of the defined trend in the BMI and prevalence of OW and OB among preschool Lithuanian children are discussed in the pape

22nd EAA Congress – 15th ISGA Congress – 5th International Conference of Evolutionary Medicine

This Abstract book covers material of the Joint International Meeting: 22nd EAA Congress, 15th ISGA Congress, 5th International Conference of Evolutionary Medicine. This event was organized at Vilnius University (Lithuania) in 2022 on August 24-27th in a hybrid way, which brought together 28 famous keynote speakers from Austria, Great Britain, the USA, Australia, Croatia, Poland, France, Switzerland, Germany and other countries. This book includes the abstracts of more than 180 presentations. The main theme of the 22nd Congress of EAA (European Anthropology Association) is Human variation and adaptation in a changing world with a particular focus on physical, biopsychosocial and general health changes in the human body. The topics of the 15th Congress of ISGA (International Society for the Study of Human Growth and Clinical Auxology) expand our understanding of human growth and development in health and disease. Special attention is paid to human growth in the period of early ontogenesis, to environmental factors affecting growth (including growth in war and other stressful conditions), children and adolescents’ nutrition and body composition, also modern analyses of growth data. The 5th International Conference on Evolutionary Medicine expands an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the diversity of human health and disease, sharing research from different fields to cooperate together in order to understand the mechanisms of different disease from the evolutionary point of view. The Abstract Book of this joint international event should not only be interesting to scientists of various scientific fields such as anthropology, human biology, public health, and health education, but also to clinical doctors, especially neonatologists, paediatricians, family practitioners and many others. Organisers believe that knowledge of the potential of human adaptation and evolutionary mechanisms in maintaining the health and wellbeing of our species will encourage fruitful interdisciplinary discussions in medical society as well as among biologists, sociologists and other specialists

Changes in Total Number of Births and Birth Size during the 1995-2013: The Reflection of Socio-Economic Fluctuations in Lithuania?

The aim of the study was to examine changes of total number of births and birth weight of Lithuanian newborns during the 1995–2013 in relation to the national and regional socio-economic welfare and governmental maternity support. The present results were based on Lithuanian Medical Data of Births Register. Only data of single newborns of identifiable sex, whose mothers were citizens of Lithuania, were included into the present analysis, and total number of analysed cases was N=597091. The total number of births dramatically decreased during the 1995-2002, slightly increased in the 2007-2009, and decreased again in the 2010-2013. Diminishing index was in line with increase of unemployment rate and decline of total Lithuanian population. Increase in number of births was estimated only in the 2007-2009, when maternity benefits were increased very evidently. The significant differences of mean birth weight by year were observed: the decrease in boys’ weight was detected in the 2001-2003, and the decrease in girls’ weight was detected in the 1995-1996 and in the 2001-2003 (p<0.05). However, the increase in weight of both sexes was observed in the 2008-2010 (right after raised maternal allowance). The prevalence of low and suboptimal birth weight was the highest in the 2002 and the lowest – in the 2008-2010 years. The obvious regional differences in changes of total number of births and birth weight were estimated

Body Image Issues In Lithuanian Magazines Aimed For Children And Adolescents In Relation To Body Mass Index And Body Size Perception Of 16-19 Y. Old Girls During The Last 15 Years

Mass media plays an important role in forming body image and makes the significant impact on body size perception in children and adolescents. The aim of present study was to reveal trends in depiction of body image cues in Lithuanian magazines aimed for children and adolescents in relation to changes of real body mass index (BMI) and body size perception of 16-19 y. old girls in the year 2000 and the 2015. Three popular journals published both in the year 2000 and the 2015, were chosen for in-depth analysis of their contents (the periodicity of different topics was counted and compared). Attention given to a healthy body image has increased and the promotion of especially skinny females’ body has decreased during the last 15 years from the dominant type in the year 2000 to depiction of slightly thin or normal body build in the 2015. However, the real BMI of 16-19 y. old Lithuanian girls has significantly increased during the 2000-2015 period (from 20.09 till 21.32 kg/m²; p<0,001). Despite this fact, the older adolescent girls were more satisfied with their own body size and shape in the year 2015 than in the 2000. The present study showed that changing depictions of body image issues in mass media (magazines aimed for adolescent girls) were in parallel with the proper self-esteem of body size in adolescent girls

Changes in Body Size of Newborns in Lithuania, 1974–2004

The purpose of this study was to analyse body size of Lithuanian newborns born in 1998 and 2004, and to compare results with the data from 1974. The main body size measurements – body weight, body length and body mass index (BMI) of 3,281 (1,705 boys and 1,576 girls) live term singleton Lithuanian newborns’ were analysed according to gestational age, sex and health status. The data were collected in the Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Vilnius University (VU COG), and the comparison with the data of Lithuanian Medical Birth Register of (LMBR) was performed. No significant differences between height, weight and body mass index in 1998 and the same characteristics in 2004 were observed. Means and principal percentiles (10th, 50th, 90th) of body measurements of 37–42 weeks of gestational age newborns were obtained. The mean body length was 52.8/52.19 cm (boys/girls), body weight – 3,589/3,454 g, BMI 12.82/12.64 correspondingly. The recent data were compared with the similar data from 1974 cohort. Statistically significant increment of body length of Lithuanian newborns was observed in all age and sex groups, whereas weight changes were less evident. The analysis of BMI demonstrated the following trend: newborns became longer, but not relatively heavier in comparison with the similar data 30 years ago. Hence, it is important to evaluate weight changes of neonate in relation with the changes in height. Further investigation of prevalence of neonatal macrosomia, possible factors of body size changes, their relationship to general health status and further health issues of the child should be explored

Regional references vs. international standards for assessing weight and length by gestational age in Lithuanian neonates

INTRODUCTION: There is no global consensus as to which standards are the most appropriate for the assessment of birth weight and length. The study aimed to compare the applicability of regional and global standards to the Lithuanian newborn population by sex and gestational age, based on the prevalence of small or large for gestational age (SGA/LGA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Analysis was performed on neonatal length and weight data obtained from the Lithuanian Medical Birth Register from 1995 to 2015 (618,235 newborns of 24-42 gestational weeks). Their distributions by gestation and sex were estimated using generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS), and the results were compared with the INTERGROWTH-21st (IG-21) standard to evaluate the prevalence of SGA/LGA (10th/90th centile) at different gestational ages. RESULTS: The difference in median length at term between the local reference and IG-21 was 3 cm-4 cm, while median weight at term differed by 200 g. The Lithuanian median weight at term was higher than in IG-21 by a full centile channel width, while the median length at term was higher by two channel widths. Based on the regional reference, the prevalence rates of SGA/LGA were 9.7%/10.1% for boys and 10.1%/9.9% for girls, close to the nominal 10%. Conversely, based on IG-21, the prevalence of SGA in boys/girls was less than half (4.1%/4.4%), while the prevalence of LGA was double (20.7%/19.1%). DISCUSSION: Regional population-based neonatal references represent Lithuanian neonatal weight and length much more accurately than the global standard IG-21 which provides the prevalence rates for SGA/LGA that differ from the true values by a factor of two

Neonatal head circumference by gestation reflects adaptation to maternal body size: comparison of different standards

Neonatal head circumference (HC) not only represents the brain size of Homo sapiens, but is also an important health risk indicator. Addressing a lack of comparative studies on head size and its variability in term and preterm neonates from different populations, we aimed to examine neonatal HC by gestation according to a regional reference and a global standard. Retrospective analysis of data on neonatal HC obtained from the Lithuanian Medical Birth Register from 2001 to 2015 (423 999 newborns of 24-42 gestational weeks). The varying distribution by gestation and sex was estimated using GAMLSS, and the results were compared with the INTERGROWTH-21st standard. Mean HC increased with gestation in both sexes, while its fractional variability fell. The 3rd percentile matched that for INTERGROWTH-21st at all gestations, while the 50th and 97th percentiles were similar up to 27 weeks, but a full channel width higher than INTERGROWTH-21st at term. INTERGROWTH-21st facilitates the evaluation of neonatal HC in early gestations, while in later gestations, the specific features of neonatal HC of a particular population tend to be more precisely represented by regional references

Changes in Total Number of Births and Birth Size during the 1995-2013: The Reflection of Socio-Economic Fluctuations in Lithuania?

The aim of the study was to examine changes of total number of births and birth weight of Lithuanian newborns during the 1995–2013 in relation to the national and regional socio-economic welfare and governmental maternity support. The present results were based on Lithuanian Medical Data of Births Register. Only data of single newborns of identifiable sex, whose mothers were citizens of Lithuania, were included into the present analysis, and total number of analysed cases was N=597091. The total number of births dramatically decreased during the 1995-2002, slightly increased in the 2007-2009, and decreased again in the 2010-2013. Diminishing index was in line with increase of unemployment rate and decline of total Lithuanian population. Increase in number of births was estimated only in the 2007-2009, when maternity benefits were increased very evidently. The significant differences of mean birth weight by year were observed: the decrease in boys’ weight was detected in the 2001-2003, and the decrease in girls’ weight was detected in the 1995-1996 and in the 2001-2003 (p<0.05). However, the increase in weight of both sexes was observed in the 2008-2010 (right after raised maternal allowance). The prevalence of low and suboptimal birth weight was the highest in the 2002 and the lowest – in the 2008-2010 years. The obvious regional differences in changes of total number of births and birth weight were estimated