Trends in overweight among adolescents living in the poorest and richest regions of Brazil |
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Authors: | da Veiga Gloria Valeria da Cunha Adriana Simone Sichieri Rosely |
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Institution: | Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. gvveiga@gbl.com.br |
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Abstract: | OBJECTIVES: We assessed changes in body mass index (BMI) among Brazilian adolescents. METHODS: In 1975, 1989, and 1997, we conducted household surveys of the weights and statures of a probabilistic sample of about 50,000 Brazilian adolescents aged 10 to 19 years. Weighted prevalences were calculated and an analysis was performed with the sample design taken into account. RESULTS: Adolescents of rich (southeast) and poor (northeast) regions showed a substantial increase in BMI. In the southeast, the prevalence of overweight, defined by international age- and gender-specific BMI cutoffs, for both genders reached 17% in 1997, whereas in the northeast, the prevalence tripled, reaching 5% among boys and 12% among girls. Older girls living in urban areas in the southeast showed a decrease in prevalence from 16% to 13% in the latter 2 surveys. For all boys and for young girls, the BMI values for the 85th percentile in 1997 were much higher than the 95th percentile values in 1975. CONCLUSIONS: BMI increased dramatically in Brazilian adolescents, mainly among boys; among older girls from the richest region, the prevalence of overweight is decreasing. |
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