Association Between Food Consumption as Predictor of Cardiovascular Risk and Waist Circumference Increase in Teenagers

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe eating habits of young people have changed significantly over the last few decades. Studies show that teenagers tend to have less than desirable intake of fruits, vegetables, dairy products and wholegrain products, with a higher intake of soft drinks, sweets and fast food. As a result, most teenagers fall short of achieving optimal nutrient intake for healthy development 1,2 .Obesity, hypertension and dyslipidaemia are closely associated with cardiovascular disease 3 and the prevalence of these factors has increased in Abstract Introduction: the eating habits of young people have changed significantly over the last few decades. Teenagers tend to have less than desirable intake of fruits, vegetables, dairy products and wholegrain products, and higher intake of foods high in saturated and trans fats, leading to increased waist circumference and consequent increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Objective: to analyse the relationship between dietary intake as predictor of and increased abdominal circumference in teenagers. Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 818 teenagers aged between 10 and 14 years, of both genders, enrolled in state public schools in the metropolitan region of Vitória, Espirito Santo, Brazil, from August 2012 to October 2013. Waist circumference (WC) measurements were carried out in duplicate and the arithmetic mean was calculated. The dietary intake was identified from a simplified food questionnaire containing foods whose consumption is high or that present excessive risk of coronary heart disease in teenagers. The statistical analysis was done through Pearson's chi-squared test. Results: a proportion of 55.9% of the sample had an adequate food intake, 15.6% a high intake and 28.5% an excessive intake. Among teenagers who had an adequate, high and excessive dietary intake, 5.6% (N = 46), 1.1% (N = 9) and 2.6% (N = 21) had increased WC, respectively. The result of the chi-squared test indicated no association between dietary intake as predictor of cardiovascular risk and WC, p-value = 0.576. Conclusion: there was no association between dietary intake presenting cardiovascular risk and increased waist circumference.

Abdominal obesity: prevalence, sociodemographic- and lifestyle-associated factors in adolescents

“…Thus, the increase in caloric intake volume, coupled with the sharp decline in daily physical activity levels among teens [23][24][25] , and even further among overweight subjects 26 , corresponded to important determinants for increasing adiposity and body weight. However, the association between abdominal obesity and inadequate dietary habits has not yet been fully verified in the literature 27 . The association between abdominal obesity and lower levels of physical activity was not observed in this study, which was also not observed by Salvador et al 8 One possible explanation is due to the fact that subjects suffering from abdominal obesity can engage in physical activity in an attempt to reduce adiposity, which thus results in a reverse causality phenomenon and inhibits possible inferences.…”