Meal habits and anthropometric indicators in adolescents from public and private schools of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Objective To describe meal consumption habits and assess their associations with anthropometric indicators. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed on 1,749 elementary and high school students from public and private schools in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (mean age=15.3 years), who were selected for the baseline of the Longitudinal Study for Nutritional Assessment of Adolescents. Meal habits and meals consumed in the company of parents were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. The consumption of the main meals was categorized as regular (daily) or irregular (≤6 times a week). The meal consumption profile was considered either satisfactory (breakfast, lunch, and dinner consumed on a daily basis) or unsatisfactory. Body Mass Index, waist-to-height ratio, and body fat percentage were calculated. The association between meal consumption habits and anthropometric indicators was estimated using multivariate logistic regression models, adjusted for age and sex and stratified according to the type of school. Results Regular lunch consumption was more frequent among private schools students, who also had higher frequency of eating dinner irregularly. Among students from private schools, the unsatisfactory meal consumption profile and irregular meal habits were associated with being overweight, having a high waist-to-height ratio, and increased body fat percentage. Among students from public schools, it was observed association between being overweight with irregular breakfast habits. Conclusion In adolescents, the association between meal habits and weight status may be modulated by socioeconomic condition.

The association between later eating rhythm and adiposity in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Detailed characteristics of each full-text study can be found in Table 2. 25,33,43,54,[56][57][58][59][60][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][93][94][95][96][97] All the studies fitted into 7 exposures developed from the 3 aspects of later eating rhythm. Five of the studies examined 2 exposures each.…”

“…Table 3 25,33,55,[57][58][59][60][61][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][95][96][97][98][99] outlines the quality assessment of the full-text studies included in the review. Seven studies [66][67][68]77,80,85,91 were described as high quality, losing no more than 2 stars across the 3 domains: sample selection, comparability, and outcome.…”

High waist-to-height ratio and associated factors in adolescents from a city in Southern Brazil: a cross-sectional study

“…26 Adolescents with higher economic level enjoy goods and present behaviors that may be associated with abdominal obesity, such as technologies that keep them in sedentary activities, 6 non-active commuting means, 27 and poor nutritional-quality foods. 28 There was no association between elevated WHtR and sexual maturation. However, the association of the outcome with age, in girls, may be related to changes in the levels of sexual and growth hormones that occur in the puberty phase, reflecting changes in the body weight and fat distribution.…”

“… 26 Adolescents with higher economic level enjoy goods and present behaviors that may be associated with abdominal obesity, such as technologies that keep them in sedentary activities, 6 non-active commuting means, 27 and poor nutritional-quality foods. 28 …”

Mudanças na frequência do consumo de refeições em adolescentes residentes em área de vulnerabilidade social da região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

“…Estes autores observaram que meninos com padrão de refeições insatisfatório (omitir regularmente pelo menos uma das três principais refeições) apresentaram maiores médias de IMC e de perímetro da cintura, do que aqueles com padrão satisfatório de refeições. O mesmo foi observado por Cnop et al 33 , em estudantes de escolas públicas e parti-culares, nos quais hábitos irregulares de refeição foram associados com sobrepeso. Neste contexto, observamos que a omissão das principais refeições (desjejum, almoço e jantar), e não apenas do desjejum, pode estar relacionada ao sobrepeso e obesidade.…”