Obesity prevalence is lower in Northeast than Southeast among children with age from 2 to 17 years old. Overweight prevalence among adolescents was also lower in Northeast than in Southeast. The prevalence of obesity among younger than 2 and older than 18 years old was the same. Obesity prevalence is higher among breast-fed females. Among other age groups prevalence of obesity and overweight was the same for males and females. It is difficult to compare these results with other studies, since there are few populational studies and the criteria used to define overweight and obesity in children and adolescents varies in each study.

ResumoObjetivos: Determinar os índices de aleitamento materno exclusivo e complementado e identificar variáveis que interferem na prática da amamentação no município de Itaúna (MG). Resultados: A prevalência de aleitamento materno exclusivo no sexto mês foi de 5,3%, e de aleitamento materno aos 12 meses, 33,7%. A mediana de aleitamento materno exclusivo foi de 40 dias, e a mediana de aleitamento materno, 237 dias. A análise multivariada mostrou associação negativa (p < 0,05) entre o tempo de aleitamento materno exclusivo e as variáveis: intenção de amamentar (< 12 meses), peso do recém-nascido (< 2.500 g) e uso de chupeta. O menor tempo de aleitamento materno foi associado (p < 0,05) com idade materna (< 20 anos), número de consultas de pré-natal (< 5 e > 9 consultas), uso de álcool ou tabaco, tempo da primeira mamada (> 6 horas) e uso de chupeta. Métodos Conclusões

Objectives: To determine rates of exclusive breastfeeding and of complementary feeding and to identify variables that interfere with breastfeeding in the municipality of Itaúna, MG, Brazil.Methods: A longitudinal study was undertaken enrolling 246 women who gave birth at the maternity unit of the Manoel Gonçalves Hospital, in Itaúna, MG. The mothers and their infants were seen monthly for the first 12 months after birth or until they stopped breastfeeding. Survival analysis procedures were used to study the duration of exclusive breastfeeding and of complementary feeding. The impact on breastfeeding duration of a series of co-variables was assessed by means of Cox regression modeling. Results:The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months was 5.3%, and for breastfeeding at 12 months it was 33.7%. The median duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 40 days, and median breastfeeding duration was 237 days. Multivariate analysis demonstrated a negative association (p < 0.05) between duration of exclusive breastfeeding and the following variables: intended breastfeeding duration (< 12 months), birth weight of child (< 2,500 g) and use of a pacifier. Shorter breastfeeding duration was associated (p < 0.05) with maternal age (< 20 years), number of prenatal consultations (< 5 and > 9 consultations), use of alcohol or tobacco, delay before first feed (> 6 hours) and use of a pacifier. Conclusions

Prevalence of overweight and obesity joined is higher among females. More than half of the women among 50 and 69 years old, from Northeast and Southeast regions of Brazil have overweight or obesity. There are few studies of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents and a lot of definition for obesity in children which makes more difficult the comparison of studies of prevalence among children.

ResumoObjetivo: estudar a prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade em crianças e adolescentes da região Sudeste e Nordeste.Métodos: dados da pesquisa sobre padrões de vida, realizada pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) em 1997. Estudadas 3.317 crianças e 3.943 adolescentes agrupados em faixas etárias. Sobrepeso (adolescentes) e obesidade (crianças e adolescentes) foram definidos segundo recomendações da Organização Mundial de Saúde. Comparação de prevalências por faixa etária, sexo e região geográfica pelo teste z, considerando 0,05 como nível de significância estatística.Resultados: a prevalência de sobrepeso em adolescentes variou entre 1,7% no Nordeste, e 4,2% no Sudeste. A prevalência de obesidade em adolescentes variou entre 6,6% e 8,4%, e em crianças entre 8,2% e 11,9%, nas regiões Nordeste e Sudeste, respectivamente. Agrupando-se os dados das duas regiões, a prevalência no sexo feminino foi de 10,3% de obesidade entre crianças, 9,3% de obesidade e 3,0% de sobrepeso entre adolescentes. No sexo masculino, a prevalência foi de 9,2%, 7,3% e 2,6%, respectivamente.Conclusões: a prevalência de obesidade é menor no Nordeste, com significância estatística entre crianças e adolescentes com idade entre 2-17 anos. O mesmo ocorreu com a prevalência de sobrepeso entre os adolescentes. A diferença de prevalência de obesidade entre lactentes e adolescentes acima de 18 anos não foi estatisticamente significante. Entre lactentes, a obesidade é mais prevalente no sexo feminino. Nas outras faixas etárias, não houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre os sexos. A comparação dos resultados com os de outros estudos é difícil pela diversidade de critérios utilizados na classificação nutricional.J Pediatr (Rio J) 2002; 78 (4): 335-40: obesidade, sobrepeso, infância, adolescência. AbstractObjective: to study the prevalence of obesity and overweight among children and adolescents from Northeast and Southeast regions of Brazil. Methods: data was collected form Life Pattern Research conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)in 1997. A sample of 3,317 children and 3,943 adolescents was studied according age groups. Overweight (adolescents) and obesity (adolescents and children) were defined according to World Health Organization recommendations. Z-test was used to compare prevalence among age groups, sex and geographic region. The cut-off point for statistical significance was 0.05.Results: overweight prevalence in adolescents was 1.7% in Northeast and 4.2% in Southeast. Obesity prevalence in adolescents was 6.6% and 8.4% in children and 8.2% and 11.9% in Northeast and Southeast, respectively. Considering both regions prevalence of obese female children was 10.3%, the rate of obese adolescents was 9.3% and overweight adolescents represented 3.0%. Among males prevalence was 9.2%, 7.3% and 2.6%, respectively.Conclusions: obesity prevalence is lower in Northeast than Southeast among children with age from 2 to 17 years old. Overweight prevalence among adolescents was also lower i...

We observed a high prevalence of possible eating disorders and inappropriate eating behaviors in the study population, especially among female adolescents. These results are similar to those reported for developed countries. The present findings are relevant for the clinical care of children and adolescents and can serve as the basis for future works aimed at increasing our understanding of the risk factors for these illnesses.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on a randomised sample of 405 children aged 6-71 months in Brazil to investigate the association between nutritional status, environmental and socio-economic factors and Giardialamblia infection. Data collection entailed an interview, anthropometric measurements and the collection of faeces and venous blood samples. The analysis was performed using multivariate logistic regression. The prevalence rate for G. lamblia was 26.3%. Nutritional status evaluation showed that 7.9% of the children had chronic malnutrition and 11.1% had acute malnutrition. The risk factors associated with infection by G. lamblia were an age of 2 years or older [odds ratio (OR)=2.4], living in a two-bedroom house or smaller (OR=2.3), living among a family of five or more people (OR=2.4) and living in a house without access to a sewerage system (OR=2.1). Non-participation in the social service programme was associated with a lower risk of infection (OR=0.2). The model adjusted for age, including only biochemical and nutritional variables, showed weak associations with G. lamblia infection for two variables: inadequate animal protein intake according to the Dietary Reference Intake recommendation and low haemoglobin concentration. The sociodemographic and environmental risk factors classically described were associated with G. lamblia infection, but nutritional variables were only weakly associated with it.

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