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Objectives: To determine weight, height and body mass index (BMI) of schoolchildren from the La Mancha-Centro health area and compare them with those determined by the Spanish Cross-sectional Growth Study 2010 (SCGS-2010)., Methods: Cross-sectional study of 954 schoolchildren aged 6-12 years. Mean, standard deviation, and percentile distributions of weight, height, and BMI by gender and age were obtained. Differences in each 6-month age group were analyzed., Results: There was a progressive increase in BMI with age, which was significant in girls from nine years of age on and in boys from 8.5 years on. From age 10, average BMI was 2.3 kg/m 2 higher than at younger ages (p < 0.001). The biggest difference between genders occurred at age 12: 2 ± 0.98 kg/m 2 higher in boys (p = 0.042). Overall, no significant differences were found in weight, height and BMI vs. SCGS-2010, although mean weight of male children from La Mancha-Centro aged between 8.5 and 11.5 years was 3.9 kg higher than that of the rest of Spanish male children., Conclusions: Anthropometric parameters of schoolchildren from La Mancha-Centro do not significantly differ from national standards; however, preadolescent males from La Mancha-Centro weigh almost 4 kg more., (Copyright: © 2022 Permanyer.)

Objective: To assess the dietary pattern of the school population from La Mancha-Centro Health Area (Ciudad Real)., Methodology: A cross-sectional study conducted on a representative sample of schoolchildren aged 6 to 12 years, using a questionnaire to determine their general dietary habits and a record of their 24-hour intake., Results: A total of 1142 schoolchildren were included, with 612 boys (53.6%) and 530 girls (46.4%), and a mean age of 9.3 ± 1.7 years of age. The frequency of food intake was 4.62 ± 0.6 times a day, which decreased with the age of the schoolchildren (P=.044), and increased with the educational level of parents (P=.004). Food preference influenced the choice in the meals consumed. The level of appetite was related directly with weight and body mass index (BMI) (P<.001), age (P=.02), and number of daily food intakes by the children (P=.038). The food groups most frequently consumed were cereals and their derivatives (92.8%), milk and dairy products (90.45%), while vegetables were the least consumed (35.46%). Over 70% of the sample usually consumed olive oil., Conclusion: The dietary pattern of the school population maintains some of the features of traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern, such as the habit of daily breakfast, the greater consumption of olive oil and cereals. On the other hand, other characteristics are remarkable, such as the low consumption of fruit and vegetables and the high consumption of meat., (Copyright © 2015 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)