Some physical development assessment results among adolescentsin western aimags

Abstract

Background: The survey was conducted using a random sample of 2,735 adolescents (ages 10-19) from five western aimags. Anthropometric measurements were taken to assess physical fitness based on body weight and height. A detailed study of the physical fitness of adolescents in the zonal aimags of Mongolia has not been conducted in sufÏcient quality, which is the basis for our study. Aim: The weights and heights of adolescents in the five western regions who participated in the study were divided into 5 groups using a “new methodology for assessing children’s height in child growth assessment” applying the centile method in the P1-P99 corridor to determine if they had appropriate body weight and height for their age. The results of the study were compared with the average values of body weight and height by age and aimag. The average weight of adolescents in Khovd aimag was higher, while the average weight of adolescents in Gobi-Altai aimag was lower. Comparing the average height of the aimags, the girls of Khovd aimag were shorter and the girls of Uvs aimag were taller. Results: When anthropometric measures are evaluated using a percentile table, most of the measure values, or the average percentile, fall within the P25 to P75 range. According to our study, the 1361 male adolescents from this range represent 58% of the total number of male teenagers surveyed. Conclusion: Among the 1.374 female adolescents surveyed, 54% were from this range. Male adolescents with stunting rates accounted for 6.2% to 13.1%, while male adolescents with below average height accounted for 22.2% to 26.5%. Male adolescents with above average height are 4.2% -10.9%, while over height is 0.8% -2.5%, respectively.