@misc{KozielHermanussenGomulaetal.2017, author = {Koziel, Slawomir and Hermanussen, Michael and Gomula, Alexandra and Swanson, James and Kaczmarek, Maria and El-Shabrawi, Mortada and Elhusseini, Mona and Satake, Takashi and Martinovic Klaric, Irena and Scheffler, Christiane and Morkuniene, Ruta and Godina, Elena and Sasa, Missoni and Tutkuviene, Janina and Siniarska, Anna and Nieczuja-Dwojacka, Joanna and Nunez, Javier and Groth, Detlef and Barbieri, Davide}, title = {Adolescence - a Transition to Adulthood Proceedings of the 24th Aschauer Soiree, held at Jurata, Poland, November 5th 2016}, series = {Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews}, volume = {14}, journal = {Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews}, number = {3}, publisher = {Medical Media}, address = {Netanya}, issn = {1565-4753}, pages = {326 -- 334}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Eighteen scientists met at Jurata, Poland, to discuss various aspects of the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This transition is a delicate period facing complex interactions between the adolescents and the social group they belong to. Social identity, group identification and identity signalling, but also stress affecting basal salivary cortisol rhythms, hypertension, inappropriate nutrition causing latent and manifest obesity, moreover, in developing and under-developed countries, parasitosis causing anaemia thereby impairing growth and development, are issues to be dealt with during this period of the human development. In addition, some new aspects of the association between weight, height and head circumference in the newborns were discussed, as well as intrauterine head growth and head circumference as health risk indicators.}, language = {en} } @article{NowakSzczepanskaGomulaIpsenetal.2016, author = {Nowak-Szczepanska, Natalia and Gomula, A. and Ipsen, Marie Josephin and Koziel, Slawomir}, title = {Different effects of living conditions on the variation in BMI and height in children before the onset of puberty}, series = {European journal of clinical nutrition}, volume = {70}, journal = {European journal of clinical nutrition}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {0954-3007}, doi = {10.1038/ejcn.2016.30}, pages = {662 -- 666}, year = {2016}, abstract = {SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study included 5597 boys and 5479 girls aged 7-8 years of age. Socioeconomic status (SES) was defined in three categories: high, medium and low. RESULTS: Between 1966 and 2012, the mean values for height and BMI significantly increased in both sexes (P<0.001). The variation of these two parameters, however, showed a different pattern. Whereas the variation in Z-values for height remained unchanged in both sexes, the variation in BMI increased in boys (P<0.01) but not in girls. SES affected the variation in Z-BMI in 1978 in both sexes (P<0.001), whereas variation in Z-height between SES categories remained unchanged across all years of surveys in boys. Before the political transformation, significant regional differences were observed in the variances of Z-BMI (P<0.05) but not of Z-height. This pattern changed after the political transformation, when regional differences in variances of Z-BMI disappeared. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that the mean values and the variation of BMI are affected by a changing quality of life, whereas the variation in height is usually independent of living conditions.}, language = {en} } @article{MummGodinaKozieletal.2018, author = {Mumm, Rebekka and Godina, Elena and Koziel, Slawomir and Musalek, Martin and Sedlak, Petr and Wittwer-Backofen, Ursula and Hess, Volker and Dasgupta, Parasmani and Henneberg, Maciej and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {External skeletal robusticity of children and adolescents}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology}, volume = {74}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology}, number = {5}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2018/0826}, pages = {383 -- 391}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Background: In our modern world, the way of life in nutritional and activity behaviour has changed. As a consequence, parallel trends of an epidemic of overweight and a decline in external skeletal robusticity are observed in children and adolescents. Aim: We aim to develop reference centiles for external skeletal robusticity of European girls and boys aged 0 to 18 years using the Frame Index as an indicator and identify population specific age-related patterns. Methods: We analysed cross-sectional \& longitudinal data on body height and elbow breadth of boys and girls from Europe (0-18 years, n = 41.679), India (7-18 years, n = 3.297) and South Africa (3-18 years, n = 4.346). As an indicator of external skeletal robusticity Frame Index after Frisancho (1990) was used. We developed centiles for boys and girls using the LMS-method and its extension. Results: Boys have greater external skeletal robusticity than girls. Whereas in girls Frame Index decreases continuously during growth, an increase of Frame Index from 12 to 16 years in European boys can be observed. Indian and South African boys are almost similar in Frame Index to European boys. In girls, the pattern is slightly different. Whereas South African girls are similar to European girls, Indian girls show a lesser external skeletal robusticity. Conclusion: Accurate references for external skeletal robusticity are needed to evaluate if skeletal development is adequate per age. They should be used to monitor effects of changes in way of life and physical activity levels in children and adolescents to avoid negative health outcomes like osteoporosis and arthrosis.}, language = {en} } @article{SchefflerRogolIancuetal.2021, author = {Scheffler, Christiane and Rogol, Alan D. and Iancu, Mirela and Hanc, Tomasz and Moelyo, Annang Giri and Suchomlinov, Andrej and Lebedeva, Lidia and Limony, Yehuda and Musalek, Martin and Veldre, Gudrun and Godina, Elena Z. and Kirchengast, Sylvia and Mumm, Rebekka and Groth, Detlef and Tutkuviene, Janina and B{\"o}ker, Sonja and Ozer, Basak Koca and Navazo, Barbara and Spake, Laure and Koziel, Slawomir and Hermanussen, Michael}, title = {Growth during times of fear and emotional stress}, series = {Human biology and public health}, journal = {Human biology and public health}, number = {2}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph.v2.15}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Twenty-one scientists met for this year's virtual conference on Auxology held at the University Potsdam, Germany, to discuss child and adolescent growth during times of fear and emotional stress. Growth within the broad range of normal for age and sex is considered a sign of good general health whereas fear and emotional stress can lead to growth faltering. Stunting is a sign of social disadvantage and poor parental education. Adverse childhood experiences affect child development, particularly in families with low parental education and low socioeconomic status. Negative effects were also shown in Indian children exposed prenatally and in early postnatal life to the cyclone Aila in 2009. Distrust, fears and fake news regarding the current Corona pandemic received particular attention though the effects generally appeared weak. Mean birth weight was higher; rates of low, very and extremely low birth weight were lower. Other topics discussed by the participants, were the influences of economic crises on birth weight, the measurement of self-confidence and its impact on growth, the associations between obesity, peer relationship, and behavior among Turkish adolescents, height trends in Indonesia, physiological neonatal weight loss, methods for assessing biological maturation in sportsmen, and a new method for skeletal age determination. The participants also discussed the association between acute myocardial infarction and somatotype in Estonia, rural-urban growth differences in Mongolian children, socio-environmental conditions and sexual dimorphism, biological mortality bias, and new statistical techniques for describing inhomogeneity in the association of bivariate variables, and for detecting and visualizing extensive interactions among variables.}, language = {en} } @misc{HermanussenSchefflerMartinetal.2021, author = {Hermanussen, Michael and Scheffler, Christiane and Martin, Lidia and Groth, Detlef and Waxmonsky, James G. and Swanson, James and Nowak-Szczepanska, Natalia and Gomula, Aleksandra and Apanasewicz, Anna and Konarski, Jan M. and Malina, Robert M. and Bartkowiak, Sylwia and Lebedeva, Lidia and Suchomlinov, Andrej and Konstantinov, Vsevolod and Blum, Werner and Limony, Yehuda and Chakraborty, Raja and Kirchengast, Sylvia and Tutkuviene, Janina and Jakimaviciene, Egle Marija and Cepuliene, Ramune and Franken, Daniel and Navazo, B{\´a}rbara and Moelyo, Annang G. and Satake, Takashi and Koziel, Slawomir}, title = {Growth, Nutrition and Economy}, series = {Human Biology and Public Health}, volume = {2021}, journal = {Human Biology and Public Health}, number = {1}, editor = {Scheffler, Christiane and Koziel, Slawomir and Hermanussen, Michael and Bogin, Barry}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph.v1.1}, pages = {1 -- 13}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Twenty-three scientists met at Krobielowice, Poland to discuss the role of growth, nutrition and economy on body size. Contrasting prevailing concepts, re-analyses of studies in Indonesian and Guatemalan school children with high prevalence of stunting failed to provide evidence for an association between nutritional status and body height. Direct effects of parental education on growth that were not transmitted via nutrition were shown in Indian datasets using network analysis and novel statistical methods (St. Nicolas House Analysis) that translate correlation matrices into network graphs. Data on Polish children suggest significant impact of socioeconomic sensitivity on child growth, with no effect of maternal money satisfaction. Height and maturation tempo affect the position of a child among its peers. Correlations also exist between mood disorders and height. Secular changes in height and weight varied across decades independent of population size. Historic and recent Russian data showed that height of persons whose fathers performed manual work were on average four cm shorter than persons whose fathers were high-degree specialists. Body height, menarcheal age, and body proportions are sensitive to socioeconomic variables. Additional topics included delayed motherhood and its associations with newborn size; geographic and socioeconomic indicators related to low birth weight, prematurity and stillbirth rate; data on anthropometric history of Brazil, 1850-1950; the impact of central nervous system stimulants on the growth of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; and pituitary development and growth hormone secretion. Final discussions debated on reverse causality interfering between social position, and adolescent growth and developmental tempo.}, language = {en} } @article{MusalekKokstejnPapezetal.2017, author = {Musalek, Martin and Kokstejn, Jakub and Papez, Pavel and Scheffler, Christiane and Mumm, Rebekka and Czernitzki, Anna-Franziska and Koziel, Slawomir}, title = {Impact of normal weight obesity on fundamental motor skills in pre-school children aged 3 to 6 years}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {74}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2017/0752}, pages = {203 -- 212}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Normal weight obesity is defined as having excessive body fat, but normal BMI. Even though previous research revealed that excessive body fat in children inhibited their physical activity and decreased motor performance, there has been only little evidence about motor performance of normal weight obese children. This study aims to establish whether normal weight obese pre-school children aged 3-6 years will have a significantly worse level of fundamental motor skills compared to normal weight non-obese counterparts. The research sample consisted of 152 pre-schoolers selected from a specific district of Prague, the Czech Republic. According to values from four skinfolds: triceps, subscapula, suprailiaca, calf, and BMI three categories of children aged 3-6 years were determined: A) normal weight obese n = 51; B) normal weight non-obese n = 52; C) overweight and obese n = 49. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2) was used for the assessment of fundamental motor skills. Normal weight obese children had significantly higher amount of adipose tissue p < 0.001 than normal weight non-obese children but the same average BMI. Moreover, normal weight obese children did not have significantly less amount of subcutaneous fat on triceps and calf compared to their overweight and obese peers. In majority of MABC-2 tests, normal weight obese pre-schoolers showed the poorest performance. Moreover, normal weight obese children had significantly worse total standard score = 38.82 compared to normal weight non-obese peers = 52.27; p < 0.05. In addition, normal weight obese children had a more than three times higher frequency OR = 3.69 CI95\% (1.10; 12.35) of severe motor deficit performance <= 5th centile of the MABC-2 norm. These findings are strongly alarming since indices like BMI are not able to identify normal weight obese individual. We recommend verifying real portion of normal weight obese children as they are probably in higher risk of health and motor problems than overweight and obese population due to their low lean mass.}, language = {en} } @article{KozielSchefflerTutkuvieneetal.2018, author = {Koziel, Slawomir and Scheffler, Christiane and Tutkuviene, Janina and Jakimaviciene, Egle Marija and Mumm, Rebekka and Barbieri, Davide and Godina, Elena and El-Shabrawi, Mortada and Elhusseini, Mona and Musalek, Martin and Pruszkowska-Przybylska, Paulina and El Dash, Hanaa H. and Safar, Hebatalla Hassan and Lehmann, Andreas and Swanson, James and Bogin, Barry and Liu, Yuk-Chien and Groth, Detlef and Kirchengast, Sylvia and Siniarska, Anna and Nieczuja-Dwojacka, Joanna and Kralik, Miroslav and Satake, Takashi and Harc, Tomasz and Roelants, Mathieu and Hermanussen, Michael}, title = {Meeting Report: Growth and social environment}, series = {Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews}, volume = {15}, journal = {Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews}, number = {4}, publisher = {Medical Media}, address = {Netanya}, issn = {1565-4753}, doi = {10.17458/per.vol15.2018.ksh.mr.GrowthSocialEnvironment}, pages = {319 -- 329}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Twenty-two scientists met at Krobielowice, Poland, to discuss the impact of the social environment, spatial proximity, migration, poverty, but also psychological factors such as body perception and satisfaction, and social stressors such as elite sports, and teenage pregnancies, on child and adolescent growth. The data analysis included linear mixed effects models with different random effects, Monte Carlo analyses, and network simulations. The work stressed the importance of the peer group, but also included historic material, some considerations about body proportions, and growth in chronic liver, and congenital heart disease.}, language = {en} } @article{HermanussenPulunganScheffleretal.2019, author = {Hermanussen, Michael and Pulungan, Aman B. and Scheffler, Christiane and Mumm, Rebekka and Rogol, Alan D. and Pop, Raluca and Swanson, James M. and Sonuga-Barke, Edmund and Reimann, Anna and Siniarska-Wolanska, Anna and Musalek, Martin and Bogin, Barry and Boldsen, Jesper L. and Tassenaar, (Vincent) and Groth, Detlef and Liu, Yuk-Chien and Meigen, Christof and Quanjer, Bjorn and Thompson, Kristina and Ozer, Baak Koca and Bryl, Ewa and Mamrot, Paula and Hanc, Tomasz and Koziel, Slawomir and Soderhall, Jani and Gomula, Aleksandra and Banik, Sudip Datta and Roelants, Mathieu and Veldre, Gudrun and Lieberman, Leslie Sue and Sievert, Lynnette Leidy}, title = {Meeting Reports}, series = {Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews}, volume = {16}, journal = {Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews}, number = {3}, publisher = {Medical Media}, address = {Netanya}, issn = {1565-4753}, doi = {10.17458/per.vol16.2019.hps.mr.26achauersoiree}, pages = {383 -- 400}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Thirty-one scientists met at Aschauhof, Germany to discuss the role of beliefs and self-perception on body size. In view of apparent growth stimulatory effects of dominance within the social group that is observed in social mammals, they discussed various aspects of competitive growth strategies and growth adjustments. Presentations included new data from Indonesia, a cohort-based prospective study from Merida, Yucatan, and evidence from recent meta-analyses and patterns of growth in the socially deprived. The effects of stress experienced during pregnancy and adverse childhood events were discussed, as well as obesity in school children, with emphasis on problems when using z-scores in extremely obese children. Aspects were presented on body image in African-American women, and body perception and the disappointments of menopause in view of feelings of attractiveness in different populations. Secular trends in height were presented, including short views on so called 'racial types' vs bio-plasticity, and historic data on early-life nutritional status and later-life socioeconomic outcomes during the Dutch potato famine. New tools for describing body proportions in patients with variable degrees of phocomelia were presented along with electronic growth charts. Bio-statisticians discussed the influence of randomness, community and network structures, and presented novel tools and methods for analyzing social network data.}, language = {en} } @article{GomulaKozielGrothetal.2017, author = {Gomula, Aleksandra and Koziel, Slawomir and Groth, Detlef and Bielicki, Tadeusz}, title = {The effect of neighboring districts on body height of Polish conscripts}, series = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {74}, journal = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, number = {1}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2017/0701}, pages = {71 -- 76}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation of heights of conscripts living in neighboring districts in Poland. The study used 10\% of a nationally representative sample of 26,178 males 18.5-19.5 years old examined during the National survey of Polish conscripts conducted in 2001. The sample represented all regions and social strata of the country and included 354 different districts within 16 voivodships (provinces). Analyses were performed with the R statistical software. A small but significant correlation (0.24, p < 0.0001) was observed for height between 1st order neighboring districts. Correlations decreased with increased distances between neighboring districts, but remained significant for 7th node neighbors (0.18, p < 0.0001). Regarding voivodships (provinces), average height showed a geographical trend from the northwest (relatively tall) to the southeast (relatively short), and the correlation was stronger for first order neighboring provinces (0.796, p < 0.001). This study revealed clusters of tall people and short people, providing a support for hypothesis of the community effect in height. Small correlations between 1st order neighbors than in another country (Switzerland) may be associated with differences in geography, since in Poland there are no natural barriers (e.g., mountains) and road infrastructure is well-developed.}, language = {en} } @article{GomulaNowakSzczepanskaHermanussenetal.2020, author = {Gomula, Aleksandra and Nowak-Szczepanska, Natalia and Hermanussen, Michael and Scheffler, Christiane and Koziel, Slawomir}, title = {Trends in growth and developmental tempo in boys aged 7 to 18 years between 1966 and 2012 in Poland}, series = {American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council}, volume = {33}, journal = {American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council}, number = {6}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1042-0533}, doi = {10.1002/ajhb.23548}, pages = {7}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Objectives: To assess trends in growth in different developmental periods and trends in developmental tempo in Polish boys between 1966 and 2012. Methods: Data on 34 828 boys aged 7 to 18 years were collected during Polish Anthropological Surveys conducted in 1966, 1978, 1988, and 2012. Biological parameters, related to onset of adolescent growth spurt (OGS) and peak height velocity (PHV), were derived from a Preece-Baines 1 model (PB1). Childhood (height at 7 years of age), pre-adolescent (height at OGS) and adolescent growth (adult height minus height at OGS) were identified. Results: Positive secular trend between 1966 and 2012 in adult height accounted for, on average, 1.5 cm/decade, with varying intensity between the Surveys. Decline in both age at OGS and APHV between 1966 and 2012 (1.5 and 1.4 years, respectively) indicated an acceleration in developmental tempo, on average, by 0.3 year/decade. Increases in the contribution to the trend in adult height gained during growth in particular developmental periods between 1966 and 2012 were as followed-childhood: 0.6\%, pre-adolescent growth: -3.1\%, adolescent growth: 3.1\%. Conclusions: Secular trend in developmental tempo and growth among boys reflects changes in living conditions and socio-political aspirations in Poland during nearly 50 years. Acceleration in tempo is already visible at age at OGS, whereas the trend in adult height occurs largely during adolescence, pointing to different regulation of developmental tempo and growth in body height. This finding emphasizes the importance of extending public health intervention into children's growth up until adolescence.}, language = {en} }