Background Low appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) is associated with negative outcomes, but its assessment requires proper limb muscle evaluation. We aimed to verify how anthropometric circumferences are correlated to ASM and to develop new prediction equations based on calf circumference and other anthropometric measures, using dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) as the reference method. Methods DEXA and anthropometric information from 15,293 adults surveyed in the 1999–2006 NHANES were evaluated. ASM was defined by the sum of the lean soft tissue from the limbs. Anthropometric data included BMI and calf, arm, thigh, and waist circumferences. Correlations were assessed by Pearson's correlation, and multivariable linear regression produced 4 different ASM prediction equations. The concordance and the overall 95% limits of agreement between measured and estimated ASM were assessed using Lin's coefficient and Bland‐Altman's approach. Results Calf and thigh circumferences were highly correlated with ASM, independent of age and ethnicity. Among the models, the best performance came from the equation constituted solely by calf circumference, sex, race, and age as independent variables, which was able to explain almost 90% of the DEXA‐measured ASM variation. The inclusion of different anthropometric parameters in the model increased collinearity without improving estimates. Concordance between the four developed equations and DEXA‐measured ASM was high (Lin's concordance coefficient >0.90). Conclusion Despite the good performance of the four developed equations in predicting ASM, the best results came from the equation constituted only by calf circumference, sex, race, and age. This equation allows satisfactory ASM estimation from a single anthropometric measurement.

BackgroundDietary intake patterns of children from the 2004 Pelotas birth cohort study have been described at 12, 24 and 48 months of age, but there is no information about dietary patterns of these children at 6 years. Then, we aimed to identify and describe dietary intake patterns of children aged 6 years as well as to assess their association with socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, early feeding practices and BMI z-score at 6 years.MethodsWe used principal components analysis to identify dietary intake patterns of 3,427 children from the 2004 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study. We used multiple linear regression models to evaluate whether socioeconomic and demographic characteristics (socioeconomic position, mother’s age at birth, and child’s sex and skin colour), early feeding practices (exclusive breastfeeding duration and age of introduction of complementary foods), and BMI z-score at 6 years were associated with dietary intake patterns.ResultsWe identified seven dietary components of children’s dietary intake patterns, namely: fruits and vegetables, snacks and treats, coffee and bread, milk, cheese and processed meats, rice and beans and carbohydrates. Dietary patterns were socially patterned, since six dietary components were associated with socioeconomic position. Moreover, high intake of snacks and treats and less fruits and vegetables were associated with children born to teenage mothers, with those exclusively breastfed for less than one month, and with those who started on complementary feeding before 4 months. Finally, overweight and obese children at 6 years presented lower intake of four out of seven dietary components, but we need to be cautious in interpretation due to limitations on food consumption reporting and due to possible reverse causality.ConclusionDietary intake patterns in children are strongly influenced by socioeconomic characteristics. Other factors such as younger maternal age at birth, and both early weaning and early introduction of complementary feeding appear to be related with ‘unhealthier’ patterns. Overweight and obese children presented lower intake of four out of seven dietary components, but further studies would be interesting to understand the longitudinal effect of children’s feeding practices on BMI and adiposity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3725-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundAntenatal care and correctly indicated caesarean section can positively impact on health outcomes of the mother and newborn. Our objective was to describe how coverage and inequalities for these interventions changed from 1982 to 2015 in Pelotas, Brazil.MethodsUsing perinatal data from the 1982, 1993, 2004 and 2015 Pelotas birth cohorts, we assessed antenatal care coverage and caesarean section rates over time. Antenatal care indicators included the median number of visits, the prevalence of mothers attending at least six visits and the proportion who started antenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy and attended at least six visits. We described these outcomes according to income quintiles and maternal skin colour, to identify inequalities. We described overall, private sector and public sector caesarean section rates. Differences in prevalence were tested using chi-square testing and median differences using Kruskal-Wallis testing.ResultsFrom 1982 to 2015, the median number of antenatal care visits and the prevalence of mothers attending at least six visits increased in all income quintiles and skin colour groups. Inequalities were reduced, but not eliminated. The overall proportion of caesarean births increased from 27.6% in 1982 to 65.1% in 2015, when 93.9% of the births in the private sector were by caesarean section. Absolute income-related inequalities in caesarean sections increased over time.ConclusionsSpecial attention should be given to the antenatal care of poor and Black women in order to reduce inequalities. The explosive increase in caesarean sections requires radical changes in delivery care policies, in order to reverse the current trend.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the association between early feeding practices and consumption of ultraprocessed foods in children at age 6 y.MethodsThis was a prospective cohort study using data from 3427 children who participated in the 2004 Pelotas Cohort Study and who had available food frequency questionnaire information at 6 y. Information about exclusive and total breastfeeding duration as well as age at introduction of semisolid and solid foods was used to define early feeding practices. Consumption of ultraprocessed foods was defined as proportion of total daily energy intake that came from ultraprocessed foods at age 6 y. Crude and adjusted linear regression models were employed to analyze the effect of early feeding practices on ultraprocessed foods consumption.ResultsIt was determined that 40.3% of total daily energy intake at 6 y came from ultraprocessed foods. In crude linear regression models, early feeding practices (exclusive and total breastfeeding duration, and age at introduction of semisolid and solid foods) were negatively associated with ultraprocessed foods consumption. After adjustment, only exclusive breastfeeding duration and age at introduction of solid foods remained associated with consumption of ultraprocessed foods, although the observed effects size was small. Children exclusively breastfed for ≥3 mo and those who had solid foods introduced at ≥4 mo consumed a lower proportion of daily energy intake from ultraprocessed foods.ConclusionThis study supports the need to promote healthy early feeding practices including the support of breastfeeding to promote healthier eating habits later in childhood.

OBJECTIVE To propose a short version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale.METHODS Two samples were used to test the results obtained in the analyses in two distinct scenarios. One of the studies was composed of 230 low income families from Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, and the other was composed of 15,575 women, whose data were obtained from the 2006 National Survey on Demography and Health. Two models were tested, the first containing seven questions, and the second, the five questions that were considered the most relevant ones in the concordance analysis. The models were compared to the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, and the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy parameters were calculated, as well as the kappa agreement test.RESULTS Comparing the prevalence of food insecurity between the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale and the two models, the differences were around 2 percentage points. In the sensitivity analysis, the short version of seven questions obtained 97.8% and 99.5% in the Pelotas sample and in the National Survey on Demography and Health sample, respectively, while specificity was 100% in both studies. The five-question model showed similar results (sensitivity of 95.7% and 99.5% in the Pelotas sample and in the National Survey on Demography and Health sample, respectively). In the Pelotas sample, the kappa test of the seven-question version totaled 97.0% and that of the five-question version, 95.0%. In the National Survey on Demography and Health sample, the two models presented a 99.0% kappa.CONCLUSIONS We suggest that the model with five questions should be used as the short version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, as its results were similar to the original scale with a lower number of questions. This version needs to be administered to other populations in Brazil in order to allow for the adequate assessment of the validity parameters.

Background We aimed to investigate the association between preterm birth and body composition at 6, 18, and 30 years of age using data from three population-based birth cohort studies. Methods Gestational age (GA), defined by the date of the last menstrual period (categorized in ≤33, 34–36, and ≥ 37 weeks), was gathered in the first 24-h after delivery for all live births occurring in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, in 2004, 1993 and 1982. Body composition was assessed by air-displacement plethysmography. Outcomes included fat mass (FM, kg), percent FM (%FM), FM index (FMI, kg/m2), fat-free mass (FFM, kg); percent FFM (%FFM), FFM index (FFMI, kg/m2), body mass index (BMI, kg/m2 at 18 years in the 1993 cohort and 30 years in the 1982 cohort), and BMI Z-score (at 6 years in the 2004 cohort). We further explored the association of birth weight for GA with body composition indicators and BMI. Crude and adjusted linear regressions provided beta coefficients with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results A total of 3036, 3027, and 3369 participants, respectively, from the 2004, 1993, and 1982 cohorts were analyzed. At 6 years, preterm boys (born at 34–36 weeks) presented lower adjusted mean of FM (β = − 0.80 kg, − 1.45;-0.16, p = 0.046), %FM (β = − 2.39%, − 3.90;-0.88, p = 0.008), FMI (β = − 0.70 kg/m2, − 1.13;-0.27, p = 0.004) as well as lower FFM (β = − 0.4 kg, − 0.77; − 0.12, p = 0.010) and FFMI (β = − 0.3 kg/m2, − 0.46;-0.10, p < 0.001), and BMI Z-score (β = − 0.69,; − 0.99;-0.40, p < 0.001); but higher %FFM (β = 2.4%, 0.87;-3.90, p = 0.008), when compared to boys born at term (≥37). At 30 years, FM (15.7 kg, 0.25;31.1, p = 0.102) was higher among males born at ≤33 weeks. No association was observed for females from the three cohorts and for 18-year-old males. The association of birth weight for GA with body composition and BMI was not significant in any cohort. At 6 years, SGA boys had lower FFMI than boys AGA. Conclusions Our results suggest that preterm birth is associated with decreased body fat and fat-free mass in childhood but higher fat mass in adulthood. Nevertheless, results were only significant for males. SGA boys also showed lower FFMI.

BackgroundAssociation between caesarian section (C-section) and obesity is controversial and mostly based on body mass index (BMI), which has inherent limitations. Using direct estimates of body fat mass, we aimed to assess the association between C-section and adiposity using fat mass index and BMI z-score in three birth cohort studies from Pelotas, Brazil.MethodsWe measured weight, height and fat mass (using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)) at ages 6, 18 and 30 years among participants in the 2004, 1993 and 1982 population-based Pelotas Birth Cohort Studies, respectively. We used multiple linear regression analysis to examine the crude and adjusted association between C-section and the body composition indicators. We also modelled height as an outcome to explore the presence of residual confounding.ResultsWe observed that fat mass index and BMI z-score were strongly and positively associated with C-section in the crude analysis. However, when we adjusted for socioeconomic characteristics, maternal BMI, parity, age and smoking during pregnancy, effect estimates were attenuated towards the null, except for 30-year-old women. In those women from the 1982 cohort, C-section remained associated with fat mass index (β = 0.82; CI95% 0.32;1.32) and BMI z-score (β = 0.15; CI95% 0.03;0.28), even after adjusting for all potential confounders, suggesting an increase in fat mass index and BMI at 30 years among those born by C-section.ConclusionWe found no consistent association of C-section with fat mass index measured by DXA and BMI z-score in individuals aged 6, 18 and 30 years, except for women in the latter group, which might be explained by residual confounding. Confounding by socioeconomic and maternal characteristics accounted for all the other associations.

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever a prática de atividade física de lazer (AFL) em meio a pandemia do COVID-19 em cidade do Rio Grande do Sul, avaliando desigualdades entre os sexos e grupos de escolaridade e diferenças de acordo com o nível de distanciamento social. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo de corte transversal e base populacional com adultos no município de Bagé. Foram descritas a prática de AFL durante a pandemia, local de prática e orientação profissional. Na amostra de 377 adultos, 24,4% relataram prática de AFL durante a pandemia. Foram observadas marcantes desigualdades; a prevalência de AFL entre homens foi 20 pontos percentuais (pp) maior do que entre as mulheres, e 40 pp maior no grupo de maior escolaridade comparado ao grupo de menor escolaridade. Entre os que praticaram AFL durante a pandemia, 53,5% relataram a prática em casa e 64,8% não teve auxílio de um profissional de Educação Física. Não houve diferença na AFL de acordo com níveis de distanciamento social. Para além da reprodução do discurso de que as pessoas devam praticar atividade física no contexto da pandemia, este estudo buscou discutir aspectos socioculturais, enfatizando, à luz das desigualdades observadas, que a promoção de AFL necessita de olhar humanizado e atento à vida desigual das pessoas no Brasil.