[Nutritional hygiene in the prevention of dental decay: thoughts about weight gain in children in elementary schools].
Hereafter the results of an investigation carried out in two elementary schools, centred on a health education programme divided into oral hygiene and nutritional hygiene interventions, having the aim above all of assessing the effectiveness of otherwise of such interventions for purposes of checking up on dental caries. Parallel to this main aim we also wished to verify the validity of a working hypothesis which, departing from a strictly odontological aspect, also aimed at pointing out the influence or otherwise of such food education interventions on a more harmonious growth in weight of the children concerned in the programme. This was because most of the principles underlying food education interventions in the strictly auxological field coincide with the basic principles of interventions aimed at the prevention of caries. The programme was prolonged for three school years in two elementary school of Rome coming under the same Local Health Service. This note concerns the second point on the programme, namely study of the body growth pattern. The results may be summarised as follows: At the beginning of the experiment the control group showed a maximum concentration of children in the "normal weight" class (38.9%) and a progressive decrease towards the extreme classes. Whereas in the experimental sample the spread was less regular, with a smaller percentage of children in the "normal weight" (22.9%) a maximum concentration in the "slightly overweight" class (30%) and a distribution of pupils progressively decreasing towards the extremes, but with a slight preponderance towards the Overweights. At the end of the experiment the control group showed a clear reduction in the "normal weight" class (from 38.9% to 30.6%) and at the same time an increase in all the adjacent classes (with the "slightly overweights" rising from 19,45% to 22,21%, and the "seriously overweights" from 9,72% to 13,9%, the "slightly underweights" from 18,06% to 23,62% to 23,62%; while a fall in the "very seriously underweights" was recorded (from 5,56% to 2.78%), with the "seriously overweights" remaining practically unchanged). Whereas in the experimental group we found a better redistribution by classes, with the greatest concentration of pupils in the "normal weight" class (from 22.86% to 41.43%), the only significant increase (p less than 0.01), and considerable falls in the "slightly overweight" class (from 30.0% to 21.44%) and in the "slightly underweight" class (from 20.0% to 12.86%); while the "seriously overweights" continued to gather a large percentage of children (from 18.58% to 20.00%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Sebastiani Annicchiarico
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L
Caputo
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R
Simonetti D'Arca
A
A
D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene
L'igiene alimentare nella prevenzione della carie dentale: riflessi sull'accrescimento ponderale in alunni della scuola elementare.