Prevalência e fatores associados ao excesso de peso em crianças de uma coorte no Sul do Brasil

Objective: To describe the prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity in children of a cohort in South Brazil. Materials and Methods: A prospective cohort of children born between September of 2002 and May of 2003. Hospital screening information on sociodemographic, maternal and infant characteristics was employed, as well as random sample monitoring in 30% of the births. Anthropometric data was collected for body mass index (BMI) calculations as a diagnostic criterion of overweight and obesity, as well as the measurement of waist circumference. Data were collected and analyzed according to the growth curves of the World Health Organization (2007). Uni, bi and multivariate analyses were performed, considering significant associations those with p value lower than 0.05. Possible predictors as sociodemographic, maternal and infant factors were included in the analysis. Results: From 616 children monitored, 51.3% were boys, 70.3% were white and about half of them were part of the economic class C (52.8%). 17.1% of the children were obese and 20.6% were overweight, totalizing 37.7% of excess of weight. Waist circumference above the ideal was found in 24% of the children. Economic class and maternal excess weight were variables associated with this outcome. Waist circumference was directly related to children’s nutritional status. Conclusions: The results found showed high overweight prevalence in the population studied, which is a reason of concern for the ones who are involved with child health. The association between maternal overweight and infant overweight suggests that interventions should be family-based.