Regresar

Overweight and obesity among elementary school students from Coquivacoa parish from Maracaibo - Venezuela

Abstract:

Background and Objective: Child obesity and overweight are emerging public health problems worldwide, associated with severe consequences for global health both in infancy and into adulthood. Given the scarcity of information on this topic in our community, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of obesity and overweight in children aged 6-12 years in the Coquivacoa Parish of Maracaibo City, and the possible associated psychobiologic linked with these disorders. Materials and Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study with randomized probabilistic sampling, realized in 210 subjects aged 6-12 years from the Coquivacoa Parish in Maracaibo City, who had their weight, height and Body Mass Index (BMI) determined, in order to diagnose overweight and obesity. Their responsible had the PAQ-C questionnaire applied to assess physical activity (PA), the Pre-PAQ to evaluate psychobiologic factors associated with PA, and a 24-hour recall to assess daily nutritional intake. Results: The prevalence of child obesity was 4.3%, and 9.5% overweight. An ascending trend was found in caloric and carbohydrate intake as BMI increased in all age groups, being significant among subjects aged 9-10 years. 93.3% subjects performed low PA, 5.2% moderate PA, and 1.4% very low PA. A greater proportion of obese individuals was found in the very low PA category in contrast to thin subjects (11.1% vs 1.1%, respectively; p<0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of child obesity is low in our population, and it appears to be driven predominantly by great proportions of Low PA rather than daily energetic intake. Therefore, the promotion of PA is of great importance for the prevention of overweight and obesity in our population.