Objective The study investigates the changes in body composition, dietary intake and physical activity of Polish health faculty undergraduates. Methods: 340 university students were measured at the beginning their studies. Subsequent measurements were performed at the beginning of the following academic years. In total, 82 men and 87 women were included in the analysis. The measurements included anthropometric parameters and the amount of consumed nutrients. Using Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall Questionnaire measured students' physical activity. Results: Across three years at university 65.1% of students showed an increase in body mass. Men displayed an increase in body weight (1.6 kg) and waist circumference (4.1 cm). Women's weight changed insignificantly. Participants' energy intake increased statistically significantly after the 1st year and decreased after the 2nd year. In men there was observed decline in energy expenditure between the 1st and 2nd year. Conclusion: Transitory unfavorable changes were observed in students' nutrition and physical activity.

•Direct measurement of amount of adipose tissue is challenging in clinical practice.•Body fat indexes allow to assess amount of body fat and cardio-metabolic risk.•Waist circumference combines ease of use with efficacy in detecting risk factors.

The aim of the study was to assess the reproducibility of a short-form, multicomponent dietary questionnaire (SF-FFQ4PolishChildren) in Polish children and adolescents. The study involved 437 children (6-10 years old) and 630 adolescents (11-15 years old) from rural and urban areas of Poland. The self-administered questionnaire was related to nutrition knowledge, dietary habits, active/sedentary lifestyle, self-reported weight and height, and socioeconomic data. The questionnaire was completed with a two-week interval-twice by parents for their children (test and retest for children), twice by adolescents themselves (adolescent's test and retest) and once by adolescents' parents (parent's test). The strength of agreement measured using the kappa statistic was interpreted as follows: 0-0.20 slight, 0.21-0.40 fair, 0.41-0.60 moderate, 0.61-0.80 good, and 0.81-1.00 excellent. Regarding the frequency of consumption of food items and meals, kappa statistics were 0.46-0.81 (the lowest: fruit/mixed fruit and vegetable juices; the highest: Energy drinks) in test-retest for children, 0.30-0.54 (fruit/mixed fruit and vegetable juices; breakfast, respectively) in adolescent's test-retest, 0.27-0.56 (the lowest: Sweets, fruit, dairy products; the highest: Breakfast) in adolescent's test and parent's test. Lower kappa statistics were found for more frequently consumed foods (juices, fruit, vegetables), higher kappa statistics were found for rarely consumed foods (energy drinks, fast food). Across study groups, kappa statistics for diet quality scores were 0.31-0.55 (pro-healthy diet index, pHDI) and 0.26-0.45 (non-healthy diet index, nHDI), for active/sedentary lifestyle items they were 0.31-0.72, for components of the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) they were 0.55-0.93, for BMI categories (based on self-reported weight and height) they were 0.64-0.67, for the nutrition knowledge (NK) of adolescents the kappa was 0.36, for the nutrition knowledge of children's parents it was 0.62. The Spearman's correlations for diet quality scores were 0.52-0.76 (pHDI) and 0.53-0.83 (nHDI), for screen time score they were 0.45-0.78, for physical activity score they were 0.51-0.77, for the FAS score they were 0.90-0.93, and for the NK score they were 0.68-0.80. The questionnaire can be recommended to evaluate dietary and lifestyle behaviors among children and adolescents.

Background:Menopause, also referred to as climacterium, is a period of multiple changes in the structure and functions of a woman organism.Objective:Determination of differences in body composition and fatty tissue distribution in women from groups discriminated based on their menstrual status.Material and Methods:The survey covered 312 women aged 38-75 years. Menstrual status of the surveyed women was established according to WHO guidelines based on answers to a questionnaire, and three groups were discriminated: women in the premenopausal period (group 1), in the perimenopausal period (group 2), and in the postmenopausal period (group 3). The following anthropomological measurements were taken: body height, body mass, waist and hip circumference, and thickness of 6 skinfolds. Their results enabled evaluating the somatic built of women in the separated groups. Fatty tissue distribution was determined based on TER distribution index calculated as a ratio of the sum of trunk skinfolds (TSS) to the sum of extremity skinfolds (ESS). Body composition of the women, including percentage of body fat, lean body mass, soft tissue mass, and total body water, was assessed using an IOI 353 analyzer by JAWON MEDICAL. In addition, percentages of women with underweight, normal content of fatty tissue, and these with overweight and obesity were calculated. The WHR index was computed in the case of obese women.Results:The highest values of body mass, hip circumference and most of the skinfolds were determined in the perimenopausal group, whereas the postmenopausal women were characterized by the highest percentage of body fat (PBF) and by the lowest contents of lean tissue, soft tissue, and total water content in the body. The highest percentage of obese women was found in the postmenopausal group, including 40% of them having visceral type obesity. The occurrence of the menopause contributed to changes in fatty tissue distribution, causing its shift from extremities toward the trunk.Conclusions:The study showed differences in the somatic built and body composition in groups of women distinguished based on their menstrual status.

An increasing awareness of consumers is reflected in a growing demand for products which are manufactured in a particular way, with unique ingredients, or which are of a particular origin. The analysis of consumers’ preferences makes it possible to define factors which determine the purchase of regional products. The aim of the work was to identify factors which determine the purchase of regional products from Lubelskie Voivodeship on the basis of cluster analysis using Ward’s hierarchical agglomerative clustering method. The research was carried out in 2016 and included 383 individuals. Statistical analysis of results was conducted on the basis of frequency analysis and cluster analysis. According to the respondents, the most frequently purchased regional products included bakery products (47%), dairy products (35.3%), meat (33.3%), and alcoholic beverages (29.4%). Over 53% of the respondents claimed that the prices of regional products are too high, every third person (29.6%) concluded that they are reasonable, while slightly over 3% of the respondents said they are low. Television and the Internet as well as close relatives and friends appeared to be the best forms of reaching the client with information concerning regional products when bringing them out on the market. However, the most common places where regional products were purchased were food fairs and festivals. Every second respondent purchased regional products at least once a month. Additionally, it was revealed that the consumers’ income was not a decisive factor when purchasing regional products. Despite financial stability, individuals who could be defined as “rich” in Polish conditions purchased regional products relatively rarely.

BACKGROUND:The main health problem of the Polish population is posed by cardiovascular diseases (CDVD), coronary artery disease (CAD) in particular. Respectively higher physical activity linked with energy expenditure of at least 1000 kcal/week may significantly reduce the risk of CAD development. The protective effect of exercise applies not only to persons from high-risk groups and with diagnosed chronic diseases that increase the risk of the incidence of atherosclerosis and its complications, but also to healthy individuals.OBJECTIVES:The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability of the Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall (SDPAR) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) in research on the correlation between physical activity and risk factors of cardiovascular diseases.MATERIAL AND METHODS:A screening survey, conducted in 2012, included students (n = 340) of the Division of the Academy of Physical Education in Biała Podlaska, aged 18-29 years. Total cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose levels were analyzed, and arterial blood pressure and heart rate were measured. The physical activity of the students was estimated using IPAQ and SDPAR questionnaires. The effect of physical activity on the biochemical blood markers, arterial blood pressure and heart rate was analyzed in groups differing in weekly energy expenditure (WEE).RESULTS:Along with increasing WEE values, calculated with IPAQ and SDPAR questionnaires, tangible descending tendencies were observed in cholesterol concentration in both genders. Significant differences were demonstrated in mean values of the resting heart rate between terciles of women ranked according to the increasing WEE values calculated using IPAQ (p < 0.05) and SDPAR (p < 0.01). Significant (p < 0.05) negative correlations were demonstrated only between the heart rate of women and WEE value calculated with IPAQ (r = -0.223) and SDPAR (r = -0.238).CONCLUSIONS:Beneficial changes were observed in the blood lipid profile and in mean resting heart rate values as affected by the higher energy expenditure. The IPAQ and SDPAR may be applied to assess the level of physical activity; however the SDPAR seems to be a more useful tool in CDVD prevention screening.

Abstract Introduction. TIn a situation characterized by a low birth rate and a highly competitive education market, increasing attention is currently being paid not only to students' level of education, but also to their competencies and predisposition. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to analyze differences in morphological features among physical education students as compared with students of other subjects at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport (WWFiS) in Biała Podlaska. Material and methods. This study is based on anthropometric data from 165 first-year female students at WWFiS in Biała Podlaska. Analysis was conducted on a selection of students divided into groups based on their study profile. Using the technique developed by Martin and Saller, measurements were taken of the anthropometric features required to determine BMI and WHR indexes and to estimate body tissue composition. The following were used to characterize the collected variables: sample size (n) arithmetic mean ( ) and standard deviation (SD). Differences among the groups with regard to the features being measured were assessed using ANOVA variation analysis and NIR testing. Results. The study did not confirm reports from other authors concerning analysis of connections between bodily structure and education profile. Thus, it should be concluded that a student's physique plays only a small role in their being selected to study physical education. Conclusions. The differences noted between the groups should rather be interpreted as owing to environmental differences in the lifestyles of the girls in question, rather than to recruitment procedures and, by extension, education profile.

Academic studies cover usually a period of life between 19 and 25 years of age. It is the time of transition from living in the family home under the care of parents to becoming an independent adult. New habits developed in this period are often extrapolated to improper nutritional attitudes and inappropriate patterns of behavior that may result in health deterioration among graduates in their future lives. The meta-analysis has revealed that an unfavorable health condition of the Polish population is connected with a high incidence of chronic diseases. It calls for immediate actions aimed at identifying factors that contribute to an increasing incidence of diseases. It is justified to diagnose this phenomenon among university students burdened with such risk factors as arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance or low physical activity. The population of 20-34-year-olds has low awareness of the non-pharmacological methods of preventing chronic diseases, as indicated by multicenter national studies WOBASZ and NATPOL-PLUS on health population. Health benefits of physical activity are more and more recognized and appreciated. Physical exertion influences blood pressure, improves lipid parameters, decreases insulin resistance, helps to maintain proper body mass, and improves general physical and mental state. The influence of physical exertion on the body is indisputable. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to everyday spontaneous physical activity especially during studies.