Secular trends in height and weight among children from Novi Sad (Serbia), 1971-2017

The secular trend is biological indicator for assessing the degree of socio-economic development of a country. The study aims to analyze the secular trend of height and weight of children 3-11 aged in the city of Novi Sad (Serbia) in the period between 1971 and 2017. An anthropometric investigation was conducted six times within the stated period. The data are presented for a total of 13037 children (6969 boys; 6068 girls) on the territory of Novi Sad.The results point to a positive secular trend, although this is not observable in all ages and decades. The mean height of preschool boys and girls increased 0.21 cm and 0.11 cm per decade respectively, while in school boys and girls an increase was 0.70 cm and 0.55 cm per decade. The mean weight of preschool boys and girls increased 0.1 kg and 0.03 cm per decade respectively, while in school boys and girls an increase was 0.69 kg and 0.57 kg per decade. The magnitude of secular changes in body height and weight was not stable. These results possibly reflect a very turbulent socio-economic and political situation in the country, which began in the 1990s.