Lifestyle, body composition, and physical fitness changes in Hungarian school boys (1975-2005).

General socioeconomic conditions as well as the physical environment have undergone remarkable changes in Hungary during the past 30 years. Unfortunately, these positive processes have resulted in a reduction of habitual physical activity along with unfavorable changes in dietary habits. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to compare some selected morphological and functional parameters of 7-14-year-old Hungarian schoolboys living in the middle of the 1970s and at the beginning of the new millennium. It was hypothesized that there would be significant differences in morphological and functional characteristics of the Hungarian schoolboy populations, because they were assessed 30 years apart. Means of height, body mass, body mass index (BMI), the sum of five skinfold tests, percentage of body fat, and two running performance times (400 m and 1,200 m) of the boys (N = 3,672) studied in 1975 were compared to those of the boys (N = 3,758) in 2005. Data were analyzed using two-tailed independent samples t tests (p < .05). We observed significant secular changes in body mass and height. In addition, boys in 2005 had significantly more subcutaneous fat compared to 1975. The running times for the two distances were significantly poorer at the time of the second investigation. The remarkable and unfavorable changes in body composition and cardiorespiratory performance were attributed to the continuously decreasing intensity of habitual physical exercise and a lifestyle that had become more sedentary (watching TV playing computer games, etc.). Radical interventions are necessary to reduce these risks associated with the high prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Hungary, and the challenge to resolve the problem requires combined efforts at the educational, societal, corporate, and governmental levels.

Effects of 3 hours a week of physical activity on body fat and cardio-respiratory parameters in obese boys.

The prevalence of overweight or fat children and adolescents has markedly increased in Hungary during the past three decades. Among the possible factors insufficient physical activity and a relative or absolute excess of calorie intake associated to it can be regarded as the most important ones. The aim of the study was to analyse the effects of a 20-week aerobic exercise on body composition and on the exercise tested cardio-respiratory functions in 10-year-old obese boys. Obesity was defined by a BMI greater than the cut-off value reported by Cole and co-workers (5) and a relative body fat content above 30% (13). Of the study group 21 volunteer children completed the program; the contrast group contained 28 obese boys. Mean calendar age was 10.03 +/- 0.26 in the study group (S) and 9.88 +/- 0.29 in the control group (C). The members of group S had two curricular physical education (PE) classes a week and three extracurricular aerobic physical activity sessions of 60 min net time in the afternoon, on Mondays (swimming and water games), Wednesdays (folk dance) and Fridays (soccer). Group C had only 2 PE classes a week. Anthropometric and spiroergometric data were collected in the middle of January and June of 2004. Relative body fat content and BMI did not increase during the observation period in contrast to the significant increase of both in the control group. Peak minute ventilation, aerobic power, oxygen pulse, and running distance (performed on a treadmill) increased in group S, and did not change in group C. The program was considered successful despite that the changes in the observed physiological and physical indicators appeared to be slight. However, the 5-month elevated level of physical activity brought about such development in the physical status of the obese subjects that might be an appropriate basis for regular training. Fortunately, the cardio-respiratory functions of the investigated boys were not affected yet by obesity, consequently the really dramatic change in their further lifestyle exclusively depends on their decision.

Overweight and obesity in 7 to 10-year-old Hungarian boys. Short communication.

Increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity is a serious social and health problem both in the economically developed and developing countries. Despite this fact the nation-wide growth studies completed in Hungary during the past 30 years had not categorised the children either by body fat content or nutritional status. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obese boys in the country at the beginning of the new millennium. Height, body mass and four skinfold thicknesses were measured in 7173 volunteer boys aged between 7 and 10 and living in various urban and rural settlements of Hungary between 2003 and 2005. Nutritional status was qualified by the BMI and relative body fat content. The significantly increasing prevalence with age of overweight and obesity ranged between 10.3 and 23.4%. The results showed the joint effects of a secular trend of growth and of a remarkably changed lifestyle. Of these the consequences of the lifestyle are the more important ones. The high and possibly further increasing prevalence of child-age overweight and obesity reminds one of the observations of Kopp and associates (5), namely that of the increased prevalence of chronic childhood diseases during the past 15 years. More intense habitual physical activity and dramatic changes in dietary habits still promise some solution. No one should reckon, however, with the efficiency of physical education at the schools with its very few classes.

On genetic information, diversity and distance.

OBJECTIVES: General information-theoretic concepts such as f-divergence, f-information and f-entropy are applied to the genetic models where genes are characterized by randomly distributed alleles. The paper thus presents an information-theoretic background for measuring genetic distances between populations, genetic information in various observations on individuals about their alleles and, finally, genetic diversities in various populations. METHODS: Genetic distances were derived as divergences between frequencies of alleles representing a gene in two different populations. Genetic information was derived as a measure of statistical association between the observations taken on individuals and the alleles of these individuals. Genetic diversities were derived from divergences and information. RESULTS: The concept of genetic f-information introduced in the paper seems to be new. We show that the measures of genetic distance and diversity used in the previous literature are special cases of the genetic f-divergence and f-diversity introduced in the paper and illustrated by examples. We also display intimate connections between the genetic f-information and the genetic f-divergence on one side and genetic f-diversity on the other side. The examples at the same time also illustrate practical computations and applications of the important concepts of quantitative genetics introduced in the paper. CONCLUSIONS: We discussed a general class of f- divergence measures that are suitable measures of genetic distance between populations characterized by concrete frequencies of alleles. We have shown that a wide class of genetic information, called f-information, can be obtained from f-divergences and that a wide class of measures of genetic diversity, called f-diversities, can be obtained from the f-divergences and f-information.

[Demonstration of antibodies against gliadin using an immunofluorescence method in childhood celiac disease]. / Gliadin ellenes antitest kimutatás immunofluoreszcens módszerrel gyermekkori coeliákiában.

IgA and IgG type antibodies against gliadin were demonstrated in 396 serum samples of 350 patients with immunofluorescence method. The procedure was used in cases of clinically suspected celiac disease and for the control of the diet of patients with diagnosed celiac disease. The sensitivity of the patient material was 83% in the case of antibodies against IgA and 85% with antibodies against IgG. The specificity value with IgA antibodies was 96% and 91% with IgG antibodies. The authors consider the immunofluorescence technique suitable for the demonstration of immune complexes developed against gliadin and circulating in blood. On this basis the method is recommended both for the screening test of patients with suspected celiac disease and for the control of patients on gluten-free diet.

X-linked recessive ichthyosis. Reinvestigation of a family first described in 1928.

Recent findings in a family with X-linked recessive ichthyosis are presented. The first description of this family in the literature was given and correctly diagnosed by Csörsz in 1928. His paper can be considered one of the most widely cited proofs of the existence of X-linked ichthyosis. The extended pedigree as well as data of steroid sulfatase and arylsulfatase C determinations presented in this paper verify the diagnosis of the X-linked mode of inheritance of ichthyosis in this family. The biochemical investigations carried out on leukocytes of family members resulted not only in a confirmation of the clinico-genetic diagnosis, but they also helped to establish the heterozygous genotype of a female mentioned previously as an affected person.