BackgroundRecently, some studies have evaluated the role of adiposity measures in the prediction of hypertension risk, but the results are conflicting. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare which of the four indicators of adiposity (waist circumference–WC, body mass index–BMI, body adiposity index–BAI, and visceral adiposity index–VAI) were better associated with hypertension in a Brazilian population.Methods and findingsFor this study, were selected 1627 individuals (both genders, and aged over 18 years) resident in the municipality of Baependi, a city located in the Southeast of Brazil. WC, BMI, BAI and VAI were determined according to a standard protocol. Hypertension was defined as mean systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg, and/or antihypertensive drug use. The indicators of adiposity WC, BMI, BAI, and VAI were higher in hypertensive when compared to non-hypertensive individuals. In addition, WC and BMI were most strongly associated with hypertension in men and women, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) of WC was significantly higher than VAI in men. In women, both AUC of BMI and WC showed higher discriminatory power to predict hypertension than BAI and VAI.ConclusionsThe indicators of adiposity WC and BMI were better associated with hypertension than BAI and VAI, in both genders, and it could be a useful tools for the screening of hypertensive patients.

Resumo Introdução O letramento funcional em saúde (LFS) diz respeito à habilidade dos indivíduos em compreender as informações relacionadas à saúde e está relacionado a diversos desfechos de saúde. Objetivo Investigar a associação do LFS com fatores sociodemográficos, apoio social, autoavaliação do estado de saúde e perfil de acesso aos serviços de saúde em mulheres assistidas pela Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF). Método Estudo transversal, conduzido em 2015-2016, em duas Unidades de Atenção Primária à Saúde cobertas pela ESF, de um município da região Sudeste do Brasil. A amostra foi composta por 439 mulheres, entre 25 e 64 anos. O LFS foi avaliado por meio do Brief Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (B-TOFHLA). Efetuaram-se cálculos da razão de prevalência (RP). Posteriormente, construiu-se um modelo de regressão de Poisson de variância robusta, sendo admitida significância estatística quando p ≤0,05. Resultados Foi constatado que 53,5% das mulheres apresentaram um baixo LFS, o qual associou-se à idade superior aos 40 anos (RP = 1,18; IC 95%: 1,07-1,31), ao grau de instrução inferior ao ensino médio completo (RP = 1,26; IC 95%: 1,15-1,38), à baixa renda (RP = 1,13; IC 95%: 1,04-1,23) e à autodeclaração da cor parda ou preta (RP= 1,06; IC 95%: 1,01-1,12). Conclusão Os resultados acentuaram a importância do LFS como estratégia para a abordagem de populações com maior vulnerabilidade socioeconômica.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to compare the accuracy of the ponderal index (PI) vs. BMI-forage z-scores transformed (BMIz) in estimating body fat levels and classifying obesity in children and adolescents from a Brazilian urban population. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study with 1149 participants (53.2% male), aged 6 to 18 years. Body fat percent (BFP) was obtained by multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance. Non-linear regression analysis provided the accuracy of both BMIz and PI in estimating BFP. False positive rate was obtained from the proportion of individuals placed at or above the 95 th percentile for BMIz or PI, whereas their BFP was discordantly below the 95 th percentile. RESULTS: PI and BMIz appeared with similar stability from childhood to adolescence for both boys and girls. The portion of the variability in BFP explained by BMIz (R 2 = 0.74 and R 2 = 0.75) was close to the variability in BFP explained by PI (R 2 = 0.73 and R 2 = 0.75) for boys and girls, respectively. False positive rate was higher for BMIz compared with PI among boys (21.8% vs. 3.9%) and girls (28.5% vs. 17.5%). CONCLUSIONS: PI is a promising index for replacing BMIz in children and adolescents due to its potential to reduce false diagnosis of obesity.

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Objective: To evaluate energetic contribution according to the degree of industrial food processing and its association with sociodemographic, anthropometric, biochemical, clinical and behavioural characteristics in adolescents. Design: Cross-sectional study (Adolescent Lifestyle Study). Food consumption was assessed using 24-h dietary recalls, with foods classified by degree of industrial progressing. The usual diet was estimated using the Multiple Source Method. In a linear regression model, the energy percentage (E %) was associated with sociodemographic, anthropometric, biochemical, clinical and behavioural characteristics, after adjustment for sex and age. Setting: Juiz de Fora, Brazil. Participants: Eight hundred and four adolescents, of both sexes, 14–19 years of age, enrolled in public schools. Results: The E % of unprocessed or minimally processed foods corresponded to 43·1 %, processed foods to 11·0 % and the ultraprocessed foods to 45·9 %. E % of unprocessed foods was associated with socio-economic stratum (adjusted β = −0·093; P = 0·032), neck circumference (adjusted β = 0·017; P = 0·049), screen time (adjusted β = −0·247; P = 0·036) and HDL-cholesterol (adjusted β = −0·156; P = 0·003). E % of ultraprocessed foods was associated with socio-economic stratum (adjusted β = 0·118; P = 0·011), screen time (adjusted β = 0·375; P = 0·003), BMI (adjusted β = −0·029; P = 0·025), neck circumference (adjusted β = −0·017; P = 0·028) and HDL-cholesterol (adjusted β = 0·150; P = 0·002). Conclusions: There was a high E % of ultraprocessed foods in the diet of the adolescents. Actions are needed to raise the awareness of adopting healthy eating habits.