Introduction:
Obesity as a civilization disease has bee called the "epidemic" in the late twentieth century. It is a risk factor for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, which is the last time a major cause of death. In Europe and the United States, the number of overweight people exceeds now 50% of the population. The incidence of overweight and obesity continue to rise and this phenomenon is also observed in our country even in case of an early childhood. In Poland, percentage of very young school children (boys and girls) who are overweight or obese amounts to about 15%. Obesity is particularly common among children from industrial environments living in highly developed countries. The aim of his study was to assess the level of fat in boys and girls from rural areas aged 7 to 10 from industrial environment.

Material and Methods:
The study was carried out at six rural schools located in the copper mining region in south- west Poland in 2001. For the needs of the study use was made of existing results covering altogether 488 children of early school age – 261 girls and 227 boys. Measurements were taken of height, body mass, waist and hip circumferences. Body fat, body water and lean body mass were measured with Futrex. Respectively the BMI and WHR were calculated from measurements taken earlier.

Results:
The BMI level is within the values of acceptable standard in majority of children. The percentage of children above the standard fluctuates within the limits of typical peers from other regions of the country and is about 15%. In boys obesity increases with age, in girls the values increase also, but they are of lower importance. Most of the examined children present an average level of total body fatness. A very small percentage of them exceeds the level considered as obese.