The aim of this population-based study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in public and private schools of Santos city, Brazil. We evaluated a total of 10,822 children aged 7 to 10 years old. Determination of overweight and obesity was obtained by the 85th and 95th percentiles of BMI for age, respectively, as proposed by CDC in 2000. The overall prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 15.7% (CI 95%= 15.0% to 16.4%) and 18.0% (17.3% to […]

Concerns about childhood obesity are justified both by its increasing permanent prevalence in the adult age as well as its potential risk regarding several diseases. In the present work we report the prevalence of obesity within a representative sample of students in public and private schools from Salvador, Bahia, northeastern Brazil. We have studied 387 students randomly selected in two stages, 55% of those were male aged 5 to 10 years and 66% were public schools students. Obesity was defined […]