title: Prevalence of overweight in Bolivia: data on women and adolescents.
abstract: Secondary analysis of Bolivian Demographic and Health Surveys 1994, 1998 and 2003 revealed a steady raising trend in levels of overweight and obesity among women in childbearing age (20-45 years), reaching 30% and 15% respectively in 2003. Adolescents' cross-sectional data suggest that overweight and obesity are mainly found in urban areas. Applying the Bolivian body mass index-for-age reference, obesity reached 5% in adolescents, while overweight affects 14% of adolescents. This overview highlights the importance of including the prevention of weight gain among the public health nutrition policies in Bolivia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium. federico.perezcueto@ugent.be
authors.forename: F J A
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Pérez-Cueto
authors.forename: A Bayá
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Botti
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Verbeke
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001838:Bolivia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D014504:Urban Health; D015430:Weight Gain; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult