PREVALENCE OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS FROM THE CITY OF MACEIO (AL)

PREVALENCE OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS FROM THE CITY OF MACEIO (AL) OBJECTIVE. To establish prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents from the city of Maceio, Alagoas, Brazil, and investigate the association of risk of overweight and obesity with gender, age and type of school. METHODS. This was a cross-sectional study Students between 7 and 17 years of age were selected from 396 public and private schools of Maceio. After randomization, data were collected by questionnaire. Weight and height were measured (body mass index = weight: height2). Overweight and obesity were defined, respectively as body mass index greater than the 85th percentile and equal or greater than the 95th percentile for age and gender RESULTS. The final sample included 1253 students (706 females). One hundred sixteen students were overweight and fifty six students were obese. Obesity was significantly associated with students between 7 and 9 years of age, when compared to the 10 and 13 year olds (p < 0.04) and the 14 and 17 year olds (p < 0.02). Private school students were more likely to be overweight (OR=2.2; CI95%:1.36 - 3.32) and more likely to be obese (OR= 4.7; CI95%:2.32 - 9.34) than students from public schools. CONCLUSION. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were, respectively 9.3% and 4.5%. Overweight and obesity were significantly more frequent among private school students. [Rev Assoc Med Bras 2010; 56(2): 192-6]