Prevalence of overweight and obesity among Portuguese children (6-8 years old) using three definition criteria: COSI PORTUGAL, 2008
2012
Rito, Ana | Wijnhoven, Trudy M.A. | Rutter, Harry | Carvalho, Maria Ana | Paixão, Eleonora | Ramos, Carlos | Cláudio, Débora | Espanca, Rosa | Sancho, Teresa | Cerqueira, Zélia | Carvalho, Rita | Faria, Carmo | Feliciano, Elsa | Breda, João
Introduction: Previous studies places Portugal among the five countries with the highest prevalence of childhood obesity in Europe. This paper describes the prevalence of thinness, overweight and obesity in Portuguese children of 6-8 years of age, based on the first data collection from COSI Portugal, which took place during the 2007/2008 school year. Methods: Semi-longitudinal design with repeated cross-sectional national representative samples. Specific prevalence of overweight (including obesity) and obesity was determined using three different diagnostic criteria. Across the seven geographic regions 3765 children were enrolled from 181 schools with 50.3% of boys. Results: Using the IOTF reference the prevalences of thinness, overweight and obesity were 4.8%, 28.1%, and 8.9% respectively; using the CDC reference they were 2.1%, 32.2%, and 14.6%; and according to the WHO reference they were 1.0%, 37.9%, and 15.3%. Univariate analysis showed a higher risk of obesity in older children, in boys and in the Azores region. The islands of Madeira and the Azores were the regions with the highest prevalence of overweight at 39.4% and 46.6% respectively, and Algarve was the one with the lowest (21.4%). Conclusion:. These findings demonstrate the need for urgent action in Portugal, and provide policy makers with comprehensive and detailed information to assist with this.
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This bibliographic record has been provided by Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge