The prevalence of obesity is rapidly increasing worldwide, no mattering age groups and socioeconomic status. In Brazil, it is still unclear the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents, since most Brazilian studies have only verified regional prevalence of obesity. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the scientific production regarding the prevalence of weight excess in Brazilian children and adolescents. A search in the relevant electronic databases Medline/Pubmed, Web of Science, Lilacs, Scielo and BVS was performed. After analyzing 61 studies, the overall prevalence was 25.5%.When sample was stratified weight excess degree, a prevalence of17% and 11.6% for overweight and obesity were observed, respectively. Analyzing differences by sex, boys presented higher prevalence of overall weight excess (e.g., 26.4% vs 23.5%), overweight (17% vs 16%) and obesity (11.9% vs 9.1%) than girls. With respect to Brazilian regions and its differences, individuals from southern presented the highest prevalence of overall weight excess (33.2%) and overweight (20.1%). The southeastern region showed the highest prevalence of obesity (18.2%).The results obtained in the current study indicate that Brazil presents a scenario of crescent increasing on the prevalence of weight excess. These results are in accordance with studies from other countries,and reinforce the increase of the overall weight excess prevalence in Brazilian children and adolescents, highlighting the increasing of obesity rates, since it is a more concerning condition than overweight. Therefore, preventive measures to reduce weight excess increase, as well as treatment programs aiming to tackle obesity in childhood should be public health system top priority.
The aim of this study was to verify sleep hours and associated factors among Brazilian and Spanish students. A cross-sectional study with students aged 11 to 16 years-old was carried out in Paranavaí, Brasil (n = 264) and Cáceres, Spain (n = 233) between 2013 and 2015. Sleeping hours were verified regarding time in minutes, sleep in weekdays, weekends and after lunch/Siesta. All data were checked for normality by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test (X2) and Odds Ratio estimates were used (p < 0.05). High prevalence in both groups of sleeping 8 hours or more a night at the weekend. The prevalence of sleeping on weekdays, > 8 hours, 6 to 8 hours and < 6 hours among Spanish and Brazilian students, respectively. Nearly a quarter of each group responded that makes the siesta. Spanish students had 3 times higher chance to sleep < 8 hours a night in weekdays, among students from 14 to 16 years old and among the underactive. At the weekends the chance of sleeping < 8 hours is 2 times greater among the Spanish students. Simple guidelines could help so that sleep habits do not affect school development, such as practicing physical activity regularly, sleeping at least 8 hours a night, avoid excessive access to technology at night.
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