Prevalence of overweight preschool children in public day care centers
a cross-sectional study
Keywords:
Child, preschool, Overweight, Body mass index, Child nutrition sciences, ObesityAbstract
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Brazil is undergoing a period of epidemiological transition associated with demographic and nutritional changes. The prevalence of obesity is also increasing in children and is causing numerous health problems that are becoming public health issues. The aim here was to evaluate the prevalence of overweight among children of two and three years of age. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study in municipal day care centers in Taubaté, state of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: Weight and height measurements were made on 447 preschool children forming a probabilistic randomized sample. Their body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Their nutritional status was classified using the World Health Organization reference cutoff points (2006). Their mean weight, height and BMI were compared according to their age and sex. RESULTS: The mean values for the final sample (n = 447) were as follows: mean age: 38.6 months (± 3.5) and Z scores for: weight/height (W/H): 0.50 (± 1.22); height/age: -0.03 (± 1.07); weight/age (W/A): 0.51 (± 1.23); and BMI: 0.51(± 1.23). The prevalence of overweight children (BMI > 1 z) was 28.86%, while the prevalence of underweight children (BMI < -2 z) was 0.89%. There were no differences in mean BMI among the two and three-year age groups (P = 0.66). CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of overweight was observed in the sample of two and three-year-old children, with practically no malnutrition, thus showing that a significant nutritional transition may already be occurring, even in medium-sized cities of developing countries.
Downloads
References
Popkin BM. The nutrition transition and its health implication in lower-income countries. Public Health Nutr. 1998;1(1):5-21.
Popkin BM, Keyou G, Zhai F, et al. The nutrition transition in China: a cross-sectional analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1993;47(5):333-46.
Associação Brasileira para o Estudo da Obesidade e da Síndrome Metabólica. Documento do Consenso Latino Americano sobre Obesidade. Available from: http://www.abeso.org.br/pdf/consenso.pdf. Accessed in 2011 (Nov 3).
Chinn S, Rona RJ. Prevalence and trends in overweight and obesity in three cross sectional studies of British Children, 1974-94. BMJ. 2001;322(7277):24-6.
Leão LSCS, Araújo LMB, Moraes LTLP, Assis AM. Prevalência de obesidade em escolares de Salvador, Bahia [Prevalence of obesity in school children from Salvador, Bahia]. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab. 2003;47(2):151-7.
Holmbäck U, Fridman J, Gustafsson J, et al. Overweight more prevalent among children than among adolescents. Acta Paediatr. 2007;96(4):577-81.
Petersen S, Brulin C, Bergström E. Increasing prevalence of overweight in young schoolchildren in Umeå, Sweden, from 1986 to 2001. Acta Paediatr. 2003;92(7):848-53.
Dietz WH. Periods of risk in childhood for the development of adult obesity--what do we need to learn? J Nutr. 1997;127(9):1884S-1886S.
Lohman TG, Roche AF, Martorell R. Anthropometric standardization reference manual. Illinois: Human Kinetics Publishers; 1988.
de Onis M, Onyango AW, Van den Broeck J, Chumlea WC, Martorell
R. Measurement and standardization protocols for anthropometry used in the construction of a new international growth reference. Food Nutr Bull. 2004;25(1 Suppl):S27-36.
Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Política Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição. Sistema de Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional - SISVAN. Curvas de Crescimento da Organização Mundial de Saúde - OMS. Available from: http://nutricao.saude.gov.brsisvan.php?conteudo=curvas_cresc_oms. Accessed in 2011 (Nov 3).
Jordan J, Ruben JM, Hernandez J, et al. The 1972 Cuban national child growth study as an example of population health monitoring: design and methods. Ann Hum Biol. 1975;2(2):153-71.
Rodrigues EM, Taddei JA, Sigulem DM. Overweight and obesity among mothers of malnourished children--Brazil--PNSN--1989. Sao Paulo Med. J. 1998;116(4):1766-73.
Fernald LC, Neufeld LM. Overweight with concurrent stunting in very young children from rural Mexico: prevalence and associated factors. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2007;61(5):623-32.
Grillo LP, Carvalho LR, Silva AC, Verreschi ITN, Sawaya AL. Influência das condições socioeconômicas nas alterações nutricionais e na taxa de metabolismo de repouso em crianças escolares moradoras em favelas no município de São Paulo [Influence of socioeconomic conditions in the nutritional changes and rest metabolic rate in school children living in shantytowns of the city of São Paulo, Brazil]. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2000;46(1):7-14.
Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Política Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição. Sistema de Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional - SISVAN. Pesquisa Nacional sobre Saúde e Nutrição - PNSN. Available from: http://nutricao.saude.gov.br/sisvan.php?conteudo=inquerito_populacional_pnsn. Accessed in 2011 (Nov 3).
Santos ALB, Leão LSCS. Perfil antropométrico de pré-escolares de uma creche em Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro [Anthropometric profile of preschool children of a day-care center in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2008;26(3):218-24.
Barreto ACNG, Brasil LMP, Maranhão HS. Sobrepeso: uma nova realidade no estado nutricional de pré-escolares de Natal, RN [Prevalence of excess weight in preschoolers in the Northeast of Brazil]. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2007;53(4):311-6.
Vitolo MR, Gama CM, Bortolini GA, Campagnolo PD, Drachler Mde L. Some risk factors associated with overweight, stunting and wasting among children under 5 years old. J Pediatr (Rio J). 2008;84(3):251-7.
Silva GAP, Balaban G, Freitas MMV, Baracho JDS, Nascimento EMM. Prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade em crianças pré-escolares matriculadas em duas escolas particulares de Recife, Pernambuco [Overweight and obesity prevalence among preschool children of two private schools in Recife in the State of Pernambuco]. Rev Bras Saúde Matern Infant. 2003;3(3):323-7.
Simon VGN, Souza JMP, Souza SB. Aleitamento materno, alimentação complementar, sobrepeso e obesidade em pré-escolares [Breastfeeding, complementary feeding, overweight and obesity in pre- school children]. Rev Saúde Pública = J Public Health. 2009;43(1):60-9.
Torres AAL, Furumoto RAV, Alves ED. Avaliação antropométrica de pré-escolares – comparação entre os referenciais: NCHS 2000 e OMS 2005 [Preschool Anthropometric evaluation – comparison between two referenciais: NCHS 2000 and OMS 2005]. Revista Eletrônica de Enfermagem. 2007;9(1):166-75. Available from: http://www.fen.ufg.br/revista/v9/n1/pdf/v9n1a13.pdf. Accessed in 2011 (Nov 3).
Bueno MB, Fisberg RM. Comparação de três critérios de classificação de sobrepeso e obesidade entre pré-escolares [Comparison of three overweight and obesity criteria among preschoolers]. Rev Bras Saúde Matern Infant. 2006; 6(4):411-7.
Shoeps DO, de Abreu LC, Valenti VE, et al. Nutritional status of pre- school children from low income families. Nutr J. 2011;10:43.
Leão MM, Coitinho DC, Recine E, Costa LAL, Lacerda AJ. O perfil do aleitamento materno no Brasil. In: Monteiro MFG, Iturre RC, Monteiro CA, et al. organizadores. Perfil estatístico de crianças e mães no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Fundação IBGE; 1992. p. 97-109.
Venancio SI, Monteiro CA. A tendência da prática da amamentação no Brasil nas décadas de 70 e 80 [Breast-feeding trends between 1970 and 1980 in Brazil]. Rev Bras Epidemiol. 1998;1(1):40-9.
Venancio SI, Escuder MML, Kitoko P, Rea MF, Monteiro CA. Freqüência e determinantes do aleitamento materno em municípios do Estado de São Paulo [Frequency and determinants of breastfeeding in the State of Säo Paulo, Brazil]. Rev Saúde Pública = J Public Health. 2002;36(3):313-8.
Silveira FJF, Lamounier JA. Prevalência do aleitamento materno e praticas de alimentação complementar em crianças com até 24 meses de idade na região do Alto do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais [Breastfeeding prevalence and complementary feeding practices in children up to 24 months old in Alto Jequitinhonha region, Minas Gerais, Brazil]. Rev Nutr. 2004;17(4):437-47.
Mascarenhas ML, Albernaz EP, Silva MB, Silveira RB. Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and its determiners in the first 3 months of life in South of Brazil. J Pediatr (Rio J). 2006;82(4):289-94.
Koletzko B, von Kries R, Closa R, et al. Can infant feeding choices modulate later obesity risk? Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89(5):1502S-1508S.
Koletzko B, von Kries R, Closa R, et al. Lower protein in infant formula is associated with lower weight up to age 2 y: a randomized clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89(6):1836-45.
Ekelund U, Ong K, Linné Y, et al. Upward weight percentile crossing in infancy and early childhood independently predicts fat mass in young adults: the Stockholm Weight Development Study (SWEDES). Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;83(2):324-30.
