Estado nutricional de adolescentes residentes no sul do Brasil: um estudo de base populacional.

Abstract

The prevalence of overweight and its association with demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral and biological variables was evaluated. A sample of 810 adolescents (10-19 years) living in the urban area of Pelotas, a southern Brazilian city, was investigated. Overweight was defined as a body mass index ≥the 85th percentile according to sex and age according to I National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey - NHANES I, following the World Health Organization reccomendation for adolescents. A clustering sampling strategy was used, and both the crude and adjusted analyses (Poisson Regression) took this strategy into account. The prevalence of overweight was 19.3% (CI95% 16.6; 22.0) and was similar by sex. The following groups presented a greater likelihood of being overweight: those classified in the wealthiest socioeconomic groups, those who had dieted to loose weight within the previous 3 months, those who watch 4 or more hours of television per day, and those who have less than 3 regular meals per day. After stratification by gender, high socioeconomic level was related to a greater risk of overweight among boys, and diet to loose weight in the previous 3 months, 4 or more hours of TV viewing per day and less than 3 formal meals per day were risk factors for overweight among girls.