Secular trends in body height, body weight, BMI and fat percentage in Polish university students in a period of 50 years

Objectives The aim of the study was to determine changes in the magnitude and direction of secular trends in body height, body weight, body mass index (BMI) and fat percentage in university students from a university of technology and a university of physical education in a period of 50 years. Methods The data were derived from the examinations of male students from the Warsaw University of Technology, conducted four times, in 1959, 1971, 1994, 2011, and male students from the Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, who were examined in 1963, 1972, 1996, and 2012. Body height, body weight and thickness of 2 skinfolds (triceps skinfold and abdomen skinfold) were measured. Body mass index (BMI) and fat percentage (FAT%) were also calculated. Results Current university students are taller and heavier than their peers from the previous decades, with BMI remaining within the reference range. A substantial increase in fat percentage was found in both groups. Over the period of fifty years, mean fat percentage in students from the university of technology increased by 6.3% (F1,3 = 116.56, p < 0.001, eta(2) = 0.3736), whereas this increase in the students from the university of physical education rose by 3.5% (F1,3 = 72.94, p < 0.001, eta(2) = 0.3181). Conclusion Changes in secular trends in the students from both universities are likely to be linked to the dynamic economic and systematic transformation in Poland observed in the period of the last 50 years. The period of economic transformations in the last decade was more conducive to physical development of university students than the previous period of economic crises.