Objective: To examine the prevalence of stunting and overweight in children and identify demographic, socio-economic and maternal characteristics, as well as biochemical indicators, associated with these outcomes. Design: A population-based, cross-sectional study was performed. Data from structured questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, and blood and stool samples were used in Poisson regression models to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) according to a hierarchical conceptual framework. Setting: Acrelândia, western Brazilian Amazon. Subjects: Children (n 1139) aged ,10 years. Results: Prevalence of stunting was 7?1 % (95 % CI 5?1, 9?6 %) and 3?7 % (95 % CI 2?4, 5?7 %) among children aged ,5 years and $5 years, respectively; overweight was detected in 20?6 % (95 % CI 17?4, 24?2 %) and 9?4 % (95 % CI 7?2, 12?1 %) of children aged ,5 years and $5 years, respectively. Among children ,5 years of age, stunting was positively associated with the lowest maternal height tertile (PR 5 2?16, 95 % CI 1?27, 3?68) were associated with overweight. Conclusions: Overweight was more prevalent than stunting, being associated with higher household wealth, maternal overweight, caesarean delivery, high birth weight, micronutrient deficiencies and high TAG concentration. Improvements in maternal and child health care with sustainable access to healthy food are necessary to reduce short-and long-term health complications related to overweight in this population. The prevalence of stunting (i.e. low length-or heightfor-age) from birth to 5 years has been decreasing worldwide, from 40 % in 1990 to 27 % in 2010 (1) , and this rate is expected to fall further to 22 % by 2020. In Latin American countries, for instance, the prevalence of stunting in 2010 was 13?5 % while a prevalence of 11?6 % is predicted by the year 2015(1)

Vitamin D is associated with a wide range of other functions beyond bone development. We evaluated the factors associated with 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in 974 children aged ≤10 years and the impact of BsmI polymorphism of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene (rs1544410) on metabolic parameters in a subsample (n: 430) with a follow-up 2 years later from the initial population-based cross-sectional study. Multiple linear regression models were used in the analyses. The prevalence (95% CI) of vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency and sufficiency of children was 11.1% (9.2–13.2), 21.8% (19.2–24.5) and 67.2% (64.1–70.1), respectively. Overall, 23% of the variation in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations was accounted for by BsmI polymorphism β = −0.053 (95% CI) (−0.100, −0.006), maternal schooling (≥9 years) β = 0.100 (0.039, 0.161), serum vitamin E β = 0.478 (0.381, 0.574), total cholesterol concentration β = 0.232 (0.072, 0.393) and serum folate β = 0.064 (0.013, 0.115). BsmI polymorphism was positively associated with HOMA-IR β = 0.122 (0.002, 0.243) and fasting glucose concentration β = 1.696 (0.259, 3.133). In conclusion, variables related to socioeconomic level, the presence of the allele risk for BsmI and other nutrient concentrations were associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. Our results suggest that BsmI polymorphism is correlated with metabolic outcomes.

Objective: We examined associations between the frequency of fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and nutritional deficiencies among Brazilian schoolchildren. Design: A cross-sectional, population-based study was performed. A short FFQ was used to assess consumption of fruits and vegetables (F&V) over the past month. The prevalence ratios (PR) and 95 % confidence intervals for stunting, obesity, anaemia, vitamin A and folate deficiencies, vitamin E and vitamin D insufficiencies were estimated for low F&V consumption frequency (vegetables ≤3 times/month and fruits ≤3 times/week) and compared with children with usual F&V consumption frequency (vegetables ≥1 time/week and fruits ≥4 times/week). Setting: Acrelândia, Western Brazilian Amazon. Subjects: A total of 702 children aged 4-10 years. Results: Only 5 % of children consumed F&V ≥5 times/d. Prevalence of deficiency was 31 %, 15 %, 9 % and 2 % for vitamins D, A, E and folate, respectively. Overall, 6·3 % of children were anaemic, 3·3 % were stunted, 2·7 % were obese and 33 % had multiple nutritional deficiencies. Low frequency of F&V consumption was associated with lower plasma concentrations of carotenoids and vitamin E. Nutritional deficiencies were higher among non-consumers of F&V when compared with usual consumers: anaemia (PR = 1·9; 95 % CI 1·0, 3·7), vitamin E insufficiency (PR = 2·5; 95 % CI 1·5, 4·2), vitamin D insufficiency (PR = 1·5; 95 % CI 1·1, 1·9) and stunting (PR = 2·6; 95 % CI 1·1, 6·1). Conclusions: In our study, the occurrence of nutritional deficiencies in children with low F&V consumption was twice as high as in children with usual F&V consumption, reinforcing the importance of effective actions to promote the consumption of F&V.

Obese and overweight adolescents in the final stages of sexual maturity presented higher bone mineral density in relation to their normal-weight counterparts; however, cohort studies will be necessary to evaluate the influence of such characteristic on bone resistance in adulthood and, consequently, on the incidence of osteopenia and osteoporosis at older ages.

OBJETIVO: Revisar as pesquisas atuais sobre a capacidade dos pais para perceber o peso corporal dos filhos, as crenças relacionadas ao peso, os fatores que influenciam essa percepção, assim como as possíveis ações capazes de ampliar a consciência dos pais sobre o excesso de peso de seus filhos e suas consequências. FONTES DE DADOS: As bases de dados utilizadas na pesquisa foram: Medline - Pubmed, SciELO e Scopus. Foram incluídos os artigos publicados nos últimos dez anos (2000 a 2010) relacionados ao tema e que abordavam a faixa pediátrica e os fatores condicionantes da percepção dos pais a respeito do peso dos filhos. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: A percepção dos pais quanto ao peso dos filhos foi sempre baixa, apesar da diversidade das amostras estudadas, regiões diferentes, nível socioeconômico e escolaridade variada. Muitos pais de filhos com excesso de peso não reconhecem ou não consideram que este seja um problema de saúde. Com relação aos fatores que influenciam a percepção, destacam-se a idade das crianças (quanto menor, menos se percebe o excesso de peso); o sexo (o peso das meninas é percebido corretamente); a baixa escolaridade e o não entendimento das curvas de crescimento. CONCLUSÕES: A falta de percepção e consciência dos pais quanto ao estado nutricional dos filhos é um dos fatores que dificulta o sucesso da prevenção, tratamento e consequente diminuição da prevalência da obesidade.