Background: Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) present a high prevalence and have an impact on the morbimortality of the elderly; however, this question is still unknown by the elderly treated in the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS).

OBJECTIVE: To assess the validity of self-reported weight and height at the time of diagnosing obesity, and to identify the sociodemographic and individual characteristics that might be a source of information bias. METHODS:This was a cross-sectional population-based study carried out in the city of Goiânia in 2001. Interviews were conducted with 1,023 individuals aged 20-64 years, in their homes, to collect sociodemographic and self-reported weight and height information. On the same occasion, weight and height measurements were made on these individuals. The mean differences and correlation coefficients between self-reported and measured data were calculated according to age, body mass index (BMI), schooling, income and height. RESULTS:Both the men and women overestimated their heights (p<0.05), by 0.9 cm and 2.2 cm, respectively. There was no difference between self-reported and measured weights, either for the men (-0.44 kg; p=0.06) or for the women (-0.03 kg; p>0.05). The behavior of overestimating height was influenced by age, schooling, height and body mass index. Although this index obtained from the self-reported data was underestimated (p<0.05), by 0.27 kg/m 2 and 0.67 kg/m 2 for men and women respectively, the measured and self-reported data presented a high degree of agreement. Both the sensitivity and specificity of the self-reported body mass index were high, in relation to identifying the measured index. CONCLUSIONS:In epidemiological studies for monitoring the prevalence of excess weight in populations, self-reported weights and heights constitute reliable data, which gives validity to the methodology utilized.

RESUMO As mudanças nos setores da educação e da saúde no século XX influenciaram as concepções e práticas dos profissionais de saúde, em especial na Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS).

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objective: To evaluate the association between anthropometric indexes -body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) -and hypertension, and to evaluate the predictive value of these indexes in detecting hypertension. Methods:Cross-sectional population study conducted in the city of Goiânia (GO) with a sample of 1,238 adults aged twenty to 64 years, in 2001. Total obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ; abdominal obesity was defined as level 2 WC ≥ 88 cm for women and ≥ 102 cm for men, and hypertension was defined as systolic pressure ≥ 140 mmHg, or diastolic pressure ≥ 90 mmHg, or utilization of hypotensive drugs). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations between anthropometric indexes and hypertension. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of BMI (≥ 30) and level 2 WC as predictive factors of hypertension, and to determine the best predictive cut-off points for hypertension.results: WC was associated with hypertension in both genders. Level 2 WC and BMI ≥30 kg/m 2 showed a low sensitivity in identifying hypertension. The best predictive cut-off points for hypertension coincided with level 1 WC (≥ 80 cm) and with BMI ≥25 kg/m 2 (overweight) for women, and were lower than the values of level 1 WC and of overweight for men.conclusion: Level 2 WC and BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 are not adequate to identify the groups at the highest risk of hypertension, since this risk rises with small increases in adiposity.Key words: Waist circumference, body mass index, hypertension, prediction.Obesity is defined as an excess body fat resulting from a chronic imbalance between food intake and energy expenditure 1 . Among the harmful effects of obesity we can point out the fact that it is an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer. Obesity is also strongly associated with other cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemias), thus increasing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality [1][2][3][4] . For the diagnosis of obesity, there are several indirect methods able to precisely estimate the total amount of body fat as well as its distribution. Among these methods we can point out computed tomography, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and magnetic resonance imaging. However, when simplicity and costs of the several methods are considered, the use of anthropometric indexes -body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), or only waist circumference (WC) and skinfolds (SF) 4 -has been recommended to conduct epidemiological studies.Although BMI does not measure body composition, it is a potentially good indicator of the nutritional status in epidemiological studies. Its utilization is based on results of population studies showing that BMI is weakly correlated with height and strongly correlated with total fat mass, and on the association between high BMI and morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, colon cancer, and biliar...

BackgroundMultiple micronutrients in powder (MNP) are recommended by WHO to prevent anemia in young children. However, evidences for its effectiveness in different populations and improvements in other outcomes (e.g. linear growth and vitamin A deficiency) are scarce.MethodsA multicentre pragmatic controlled trial was carried out in primary health centres. At study baseline, a control group (CG) of children aged 10- to 14 months (n = 521) was recruited in the routine healthcare for assessing anemia, anthropometric and micronutrient status. At the same time, an intervention group (IG) of infants aged 6- to 8 months (n = 462) was recruited to receive MNP daily in complementary feeding over a period of 60 days. Both study groups were compared when the IG infants reached the age of the CG children at enrolment.ResultsIn CG, the prevalence of anemia [hemoglobin (Hb) < 110 g/L], iron deficiency (ID, plasma ferritin < 12 μg/L or TfR > 8.3 mg/L), and vitamin A deficiency (VAD, serum retinol < 0.70μmol/L) were 23.1%, 37.4%, and 17.4%, respectively. Four to six months after enrolment, when the IG participants had the same age of the controls at the time of testing, the prevalence of anemia, ID and VAD in IG were 14.3%, 30.1% and 7.9%, respectively. Adjusting for city, health centre, maternal education, and age, IG children had a lower likelihood of anemia and VAD [Prevalence Ratio (95% CI) = 0.63 (0.45, 0.88) and 0.45 (0.29, 0.69), respectively] when compared with CG children. The adjusted mean distributions of Hb and length-for-age Z-scores improved by 2 SE in the IG compared to CG children.ConclusionsMNP effectively reduced anemia and improved growth and micronutrient status among young Brazilian children.Trial RegistrationRegistro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clinicos RBR-5ktv6b

INTRODUÇÃO: A prática regular de atividades físicas entre os níveis moderados e vigorosos tem relação inversa com a morbidade-mortalidade por doenças cardiovasculares e obesidade. É fundamental a identificação dos determinantes desta prática para serem propostas estratégias populacionais com vista à adoção de um estilo de vida fisicamente ativo. OBJETIVO: O presente estudo teve por objetivo determinar os fatores associados à prática de atividade física e ao sedentarismo na população adulta de Goiânia. MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: Trata-se de parte de um estudo multicêntrico, transversal, realizado na cidade de Goiânia/GO com amostra probabilística da população adulta atendida por linhas telefônicas fixas. Foram realizadas 2.002 entrevistas por meio de ligações telefônicas, definindo uma taxa de sucesso de 73,1%. A construção do banco de dados e as análises estatísticas foram realizadas com auxílio do aplicativo STATA, versão 8.0. RESULTADOS: O sedentarismo foi mais prevalente entre as mulheres (55,5%) que entre os homens (42,0%). A prevalência de hipertensão foi menor naqueles indivíduos que praticavam atividade física (p=0,0002). Em relação à atividade física no lazer, as mulheres foram mais inativas (79,3%) que os homens (66,9%). Houve relação inversa entre sedentarismo e escolaridade em ambos os sexos. CONCLUSÃO: Diante do quadro encontrado de alta freqüência de sedentarismo na população, sugere-se a implementação de estratégias de prevenção primária para melhorar o perfil de risco para doenças crônicas não transmissíveis.

The results suggest that both overall obesity (BMI) and central obesity (WC and WHtR) anthropometric indicators can be used in this population to evaluate the risk of developing hypertension.