Prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade em estudantes: relações com nível socioeconômico, sexo e idade

Edilson Hobold,Miguel De Arruda

doi:10.5007/1980-0037.2015v17n2p156

Abstract

Overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence have reached alarming rates in Brazil. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity according to socioeconomic status, gender and age in schoolchildren from 11 towns around the Itaipu Lake, western Parana. The sample consisted of 5,962 subjects (3,024 girls) aged 6 to 17 years. Overweight and obesity were identified based on body mass index, adopting the cut-off values for age and gender suggested by the International Obesity Task Force. The prevalence rates according to different strata (gender, age and socioeconomic status) were compared by means of logistic regression using odds ratios. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 14.8% and 5.8% among boys, respectively, and 15.2% and 4.5% among girls. The prevalence rates decreased with increasing age. Considering socioeconomic status, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was significantly higher in schoolchildren from high-income families. The prevalence rates indicate a trend similar to that observed for the highest prevalence reported in surveys conducted in other cities and regions of Brazil. The present results suggest the need for interventions of the public health system and of society, seeking alternatives to alleviate this problem and its consequences.

Highlights

Excess body weight has long ceased to be merely a matter of esthetics
An expressive number of studies have been conducted in Brazil over the last decade in an attempt to identify the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents, but these studies have used different criteria for the identification and classification of obesity, a fact showing the lack of consensus and impairing large comparisons
The results of the present study suggest the need for intervention programs designed to combat the constant increase in overweight and obesity in Brazil, which requires the joint effort of families, schools, society, and public authorities

Summary

Introduction

In Brazil, there has been a constant increase in excess body weight, over the last 30 years. In 1975, the National Survey of Household Spending (Estudo Nacional de Despesa Familiar - ENDEF) showed a rate of excess weight of 18.6% in men and of 28.6% in women. The Household Budget Survey (Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares - POF) conducted in 2003 indicated a significant increase in this prevalence, which reached 41% among men and 39.8% among women. In 2006, the Brazilian Ministry of Health conducted a telephone survey of Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases (Vigilância de Fatores de Risco e Proteção para Doenças Crônicas por Inquérito Telefônico - VIGITEL), which confirmed the growing trends in excess weight in the country. In 2008, the prevalence of excess weight among adults was 43.3%, with a rate of 47.3% in men and of 39.5% in women[6]

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Discussion

Conclusion