Repeated measures analysis of body mass index in children from an indigenous ecuadorian community

Authors

  • Carlos Castañeda Guillot
  • Ronelsys Martínez Martínez
  • Manuel Ezcurdia Barzaga

Keywords:

Body Mass Index, Ecuadorian children, indigenous community, repeated measures ANOVA, physical development

Abstract

Introduction: It is very important to understand how children's nutritional status evolves during their physical development.

Objective: The objective of the study was to analyse the variation of Body Mass Index (BMI) in Ecuadorian children from an indigenous community, from 5 to 8 years of age, using repeated measures ANOVA.

Methods: The study corresponded to the relational research level and was classified as observational, longitudinal, prospective and analytical. The study population consisted of 50 children. The repeated measures ANOVA test was employed using SPSS version 27 software.

Results: The repeated measures ANOVA analysis showed statistically significant differences in the BMI of the children of the Ecuadorian indigenous community over the four years studied (5 to 8 years). The results revealed a trend of gradually increasing BMI as the children advanced in age. In particular, a statistically significant increase in BMI was observed from age 5 years (mean 16.3) to age 8 years (mean 18.4), with increasing standard deviations across these years (standard deviation from 0.81 to 1.15 respectively).

Conclusions: At the end of the study, statistically significant results are obtained for differences in BMI among children in the Ecuadorian indigenous community, over the four years that were evaluated (5 to 8 years). The null hypothesis (H0) was rejected and the alternative hypothesis was confirmed.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Published

2023-12-22

How to Cite

1.
Castañeda Guillot C, Martínez Martínez R, Ezcurdia Barzaga M. Repeated measures analysis of body mass index in children from an indigenous ecuadorian community. Rev Cubana Inv Bioméd [Internet]. 2023 Dec. 22 [cited 2025 Aug. 2];42(2). Available from: https://revibiomedica.sld.cu/index.php/ibi/article/view/3159