Abstract
During a period of years a group of Czech children (n = 158, 75 males, 83 females) was systematically followed and their somatic parameters were taken (body length, body weight, circumference of the head chest and upper arm, thickness of the skin fold over the biceps and triceps, subscapular, over the hip and over the calf, sum of 4 skin folds, sum of 5 skin folds, index of the head circumference and arm circumference). The collected data was statistically evaluated in relation to sex and the manner of early nutrition in the examined children.
The manner of nutrition influenced sucklings in inter- and intrasexual differences of some basic somatic parameters. In the group of artificially fed sucklings the body length of boys at 3 and 4 months of life were significantly (p < 0.05-0.01) larger then in girls who were not breastfed.
At the age of 3-6 months non breastfed boys had a significantly (p < 0.02-0.05) larger weight then non breastfed girls. In breastfed children these differences were not significant.
Sucklings who were fed with artificial nutrition had at 6 months of age a significantly larger chest circumference (girls, boys p < 0,05) in relation to children who were breastfed. The authors further found that the manner of early nutrition influences changes in body makeup in sucklings as well as in older children up to their 4th year of life.
The amount of subcutaneous fat was in non breastfed boys similar to that of non breastfed girls. The authors describe a ((unisexual habitus}} and obscure physiological sexual dimorphism of fat tissue in non breastfed children.