AGE AND GENDER FEATURES OF BODY LENGTH AND SEGMENTS DURING ONTOGENESIS IN CITY SCHOOLCHILDREN

Background. The age dynamics of children`s growth changes unevenly, which is one of the most important features of their development. The aim of the work is to assess the gender and age regularities of changes of body length and body segments in city schoolchildren aged 7-17. Material and methods. We examined city schoolchildren aged 7-17 (1693 boys and 1757 girls). The anthropometry was performed by the method of V.V.Bunak. The variability of increases in somatometric parameters was studied by absolute and relative annual gains. Results of study. The periods of maximum body length increases were revealed in boys at the age from 12 to 13, that of trunk length — at the age from 10 to 11 and from 15 to 16, that of length of limbs — from 13 to 14. The maximum increases in body length and length of limbs was revealed in girls at the age from 11 to 12, that of trunk length — from 10 to 12. Conclusions. The periods of maximum increases in body length and its segments in boys have been found in the middle and at the end of puberty, and girls – at the beginning of puberty.