Overweight among children under five years of age in municipalities of the semiarid region.
OBJECTIVE
To measure the prevalence and to identify factors associated with overweight among children under five years old living in two municipalities in the semiarid region of Piauí, Brazil.


METHODS
Previously trained interviewers visited all of the households in these municipalities and applied standard questionnaires to the mothers of the children. The questionnaires sought information on: the demographic characteristics of the mother and children, the family's socioeconomic status, care received during pregnancy and at childbirth, breastfeeding and dietary patterns. Overweight (>+ 1 standard deviation from the median to the reference population) was calculated transforming body mass index into Z scores, according to the standard by the World Health Organization (WHO). The statistical analysis was performed using Poisson regression with robust adjustment of variance.


RESULTS
The prevalence of overweight among the 1,640 children evaluated was of 30.2% (95%CI 27.9 - 32.4). This prevalence varied from 13.2% among children born weighing less than 2,500 g to 43.4% among those aged 12 to 23 months. Adjusted analysis showed that the prevalence ratios (PR) for overweight in children aged 48 to 59 months was 1.42 (1.07 - 1.86) for overweight compared to those aged between 0 and 11 months, whereas children pertaining to the highest quartile income showed PR = 1.44 (1.17 - 1.76) when compared to the lowest quartile. Finally, children born with weight ≥ 3500 g, the PR for overweight was 2.32 (1.33 - 4.05) in relation to those born with low weight (< 2500 g).


CONCLUSIONS
Even in the semiarid region, the prevalence of overweight is high, and the need for early intervention to change this situation seems to be evident.
School of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
Isabel Nunes
IN
Oppitz
School of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
Juraci Almeida
JA
Cesar
National Coordinating Committee of the Child Pastorate Programme, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
Nelson Arns
NA
Neumann
D001724:Birth Weight; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors