Prevalence of weight excess in Brazilian children and adolescents: a systematic review

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity is rapidly increasing worldwide, no mattering age groups and socioeconomic status. In Brazil, it is still unclear the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents, since most Brazilian studies have only verified regional prevalence of obesity. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the scientific production regarding the prevalence of weight excess in Brazilian children and adolescents. A search in the relevant electronic databases Medline/Pubmed, Web of Science, Lilacs, Scielo and BVS was performed. After analyzing 61 studies, the overall prevalence was 25.5%.When sample was stratified weight excess degree, a prevalence of17% and 11.6% for overweight and obesity were observed, respectively. Analyzing differences by sex, boys presented higher prevalence of overall weight excess (e.g., 26.4% vs 23.5%), overweight (17% vs 16%) and obesity (11.9% vs 9.1%) than girls. With respect to Brazilian regions and its differences, individuals from southern presented the highest prevalence of overall weight excess (33.2%) and overweight (20.1%). The southeastern region showed the highest prevalence of obesity (18.2%).The results obtained in the current study indicate that Brazil presents a scenario of crescent increasing on the prevalence of weight excess. These results are in accordance with studies from other countries,and reinforce the increase of the overall weight excess prevalence in Brazilian children and adolescents, highlighting the increasing of obesity rates, since it is a more concerning condition than overweight. Therefore, preventive measures to reduce weight excess increase, as well as treatment programs aiming to tackle obesity in childhood should be public health system top priority.

Comparison between girls and boys lifestyle profile and physical activity

“…Studies suggest that the prevention of health and risk behaviors are related to the benefits of physical activity 19,24 , as the results observed in this study with boys, who were on average sufficiently active according to the physical activity recommendations 22 . However, when analyzing preventive behaviors and relationship patterns, an important aspect of this study, the findings showed that boys had negative attitudes toward these components.…”

“…Similarly, Simões et.al. 22 reinforced the increase in prevalence of overweight in children and adolescents, highlighting the importance of preventive measures as well as therapeutic programs for a decrease in obesity.…”

Hypertension and Different Levels of Body Mass Index and Cardiorespiratory Fitness Amongst Adolescents

“…26 Therefore, as suggested by the present and previous studies, excess weight should be considered when looking at preventing hypertension development among youth, especially for Brazilian children and adolescents, which has an estimation of a quarter presenting excess weight. 27 By contrast, Yang et al, 28 highlight better levels of CRF associated with normal BP levels. Obese students with low CRF levels present a higher prevalence of hypertension (OR: 3.98; 95% CI: 2.92 to 5.41) compared to obese students with better CRF levels (OR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.10 to 2.79), which suggests that CRF may attenuate the relationship between obesity and less favorable BP levels.…”

Desigualdades socioeconômicas associadas ao excesso de peso e sedentarismo em adolescentes brasileiros

“…As medidas socioeconômicas avaliadas por esses estudos incluíram escolaridade dos pais 13,14,16,17 , renda familiar 15,17 e ocupação dos pais 16 . No Brasil, poucos estudos de abrangência nacional avaliaram o excesso de peso entre adolescentes 19 . Estudos prévios, realizados no país, verificaram diferenças entre o excesso de peso e a condição socioeconômica a partir de análises bivariadas e sugeriram uma associação direta conforme observado nos países em desenvolvimento [20][21][22][23] .…”