Characteristics of physical development, biological maturation, and physical fitness of senior preschool children in St. Petersburg

Introduction. The intensification of the educational process places increased demands on the health and physical fitness of students. In a megacity, a number of environmental factors can have a negative impact on the growth and development of children.

Goal – to determine the variability of physical development, biological maturation and physical training of children’s educational organizations in the metropolis.

Materials and methods. In the conditions of children’s educational organizations after signing 3027 children (1498 girls and 1529 boys) aged 6 to 7 years were examined by legal representatives after informed consent. The examination included somatometry (measurement of height and body weight), assessment of the level and harmony of physical development; correspondence of biological maturation to the child’s passport age; performing test tasks of the first stage of the All-Russian Physical Culture and Sports Complex “Ready for Labor and Defense”.

Results. A high frequency of disharmonious variants of physical development, especially obesity, was revealed: 11.5% in girls and 14.4% in boys (p=0.02). In 15.2% of children there was a delay, and in 13.0% there was an advance in biological age. In total, the “relative risk” group for disruption of school adaptation is larger among girls (31.7%) than among boys (28.2%; p=0.0000). Among the components of physical fitness, speed qualities are better developed in preschoolers (running a distance of 30 m), good speed-strength qualities (standing long jump); Coordination tests (shuttle running, throwing a ball at a target) are not enough. Boys more often than girls did not meet the standards when completing all tasks (p=0.0017÷p=0.0000).

Limitations. The limitations of the study are related to the significant duration of the examination of children in preschool educational institutions located in various districts of St. Petersburg.

Conclusion. When assessing the “school maturity” of children, it is necessary to take into account not only the individual characteristics of growth, development, and health status, but also the level of physical fitness.

Compliance with ethical standards. Legal representatives of preschool children gave written informed consent for the children’s participation in the study.

Contribution:
Makoeva F.K. – collection, processing and analysis of material; responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article;
Gritsinskaya V.L. – concept and design research, text editing, approval of the final article;
Tuaeva I.Sh. – research organizations; participation in the results, preparation of the text;
Kozyreva F.U. – collection of literature data, participation in statistical processing of the material.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: May 07, 2024 / Revised: July 17, 2024 / Accepted: December 3, 2024 / Published: March 7, 2025