Physical Development Particularities Among Pupils at the Sports High School in Iasi

Among the pupils within the Sports High school, it is important to assess physical development in order to highlight any deviation from normality. In this paper, we have insisted on physical development indicators, underlined by using body mass index, and on the way in which the pupils perceive their own bodyweight. Paper objectives: ranking the pupil's physical development; assessment of perceived bodyweight; evaluation of morning food intake and snacking. Material and methods: the research study was carried out on a sample of 220 pupils within the Sports High School in Iasi, from the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. The teenagers filled out a questionnaire with questions concerning their dietary habits. We have also appraised the anthropometrical indicators represented by weight and height. We have processed the results using Pearson's test. Findings: the values of body mass index highlight the existence of 74.54% young people with normal bodyweight. A warning sign is that 20.45% of them are overweight, the differences calculated being statistically insignificant (p>0.05) by gender and by grade. 67.27% of the pupils perceive their bodyweight as good, but 20.45% of them think they are overweight; the differences calculated are statistically insignificant (p>0.05). The correlation between BMI - perceived bodyweight underlines the existence of 33.63% of the pupils not assessing their weight correctly; the differences calculated being statistically significant (p.0.000). Skipping breakfast was recorded for 35.45% of the pupils, while the favourite snack was represented by fruits (48.63%) and sweets (48.18%). Conclusions: issues emerge related to self-perceived weight that may represent an obstacle in achieving the coveted sports performances.