Abstract

FERREIRA, Filipe; MOTA, Jorge Augusto  and  DUARTE, José. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in school adolescents of Castelo Branco district, Portugal: a study based in body mass index, waist circumference and percentage of body fat. Rev. Port. Sau. Pub. [online]. 2012, vol.30, n.1, pp.47-54. ISSN 0870-9025.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpsp.2012.03.002.

The aim of this cross sectional study was to estimate the prevalence of pre-obesity and obesity among young students of Castelo Branco district, Portugal. We evaluated a total of 1084 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old. Determination of pre-obesity and obesity was obtained by body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and percentage of body fat, obtained by bioimpedance (%BF). The overall prevalence of pre-obesity and obesity were 17.3% and 3.7%, according to BMI; 22.2% and 33%, according to PC; 10.9% and 11.7%, according to %BF, respectively. According to BMI, the prevalence of pre-obesity and obesity was 17.3% and 2.5% in girls, 17.2% and 4.9% in boys, respectively. According to WC, the prevalence of pre-obesity and obesity was 22.7% and 37.9% in girls, 21.7% and 28% in boys, respectively. According to %BF, the prevalence of pre-obesity and obesity is 13.4% and 12.2% in girls and 8.3% and 11.2% in boys, respectively. It was find a high prevalence of pre-obesity and obesity among young students of Castelo Branco district and this may vary according to the techniques and cutoff points used for diagnosis. This study also draws attention to the promotion of strategies to regulate the increase of pre-obesity and obesity among adolescents using various diagnose techniques, including techniques of fat location.

Keywords : Overweight; Obesity; Adolescents.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )