STUDY ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT INDICES AND HEALTH STATUS PARAMETERS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS ACTIVITIES

Aim. In this study, we aimed to statistically evaluate the effect that an intervention (diet and physical exercise) may have on reducing obesity in children. To this end, we used several experimental parameters: height, weight, body circumferences (arm, hip, abdomen, chest), arm span, and body mass index (BMI). Data for all these parameters were collected both before and after the intervention, over a period of 12 months. Two groups of children were used: an experimental group, which received the intervention, and a control group, which did not receive the intervention but was measured at the same time intervals. Methods. To test the statistical significance of the intervention, we used several types of tests, conducted with Microsoft Excel and the online statistical program VassarStats (vassarstats.net). We first applied a series of t-tests to determine whether significant differences existed between the control group and the experimental group. Results. For these tests, we used the difference between the pre-intervention and post-intervention values. In this way, we examined whether there were significant differences between the two groups in how these parameters changed over time. Conclusions. We found significant differences between the groups (p 0.05 and |t Stat| > t Critical) for BMI, chest circumference (significant but borderline), and arm circumference—the latter being the most significant parameter among the circumferences tested. Keywords: secondary school students, BMI, natural supplements, violin plots, physical activity.