Prevalence of obesity in childhood in different social groups and the importance of teaching strategies

• Autor(a) principal: Berleze, Adriana
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Outros Autores: Haeffner, Leris Salete Bonfanti, Valentini, Nadia Cristina
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Saúde (Santa Maria)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsm.br/revistasaude/article/view/6497
• topic: Obesity; BMI; Child; Teaching strategic.; Obesidade; IMC; Criança; Estratégias pedagógicas.

The subject of this research was the prevalence of obesity in children, from 6 to 8 years old attending the first-grade of 'Fundamental Teaching', in different social groups, in Santa Maria, RS. The study included 424 children (212 girls and 212 boys) distributed in the following groups: group 1 (central area, middle class), group 2 (suburban area, middle class), and group 3 (suburban area, poor class). Height and weight were measured in all the children. Overweight and obesity was defined by body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) of 85-95th percentile and > 95th percentile, respectively, according to the NCHS. Data are reported as frequencies and compared by chi2 test (p<0,05). The prevalence of obesity in the population examined was 29,95%, with no differences among the social groups and gender. The presence of overweight and obesity in children first starting at school reinforces the importance of healthy habits in the childhood, including healthy eating and the systematic practice of physical activities