Prevalence of Obesity, Overweight and Eating Disorders in a School-Based Population in Southern Brazil

Ricardo Rodrigo Rech and Ri

Abstract

The health of school-age children and adolescents has been the focus of much attention, since at this stage of life students experience biological, social, emotional and cognitive changes. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence rates of obesity, overweight and symptoms of eating disorders (ED) among the sixth-grade students of the municipal schools in Caxias do Sul in 2011. A school-based, cross-sectional study evaluated 1230 students (86.80% of the total). A self-report questionnaire and anthropometric measures of weight and height were used in the assessment. The prevalence rates of obesity, overweight and ED symptoms were 7.30%, 22.80% and 33.10%, respectively. The students dissatisfied with their body image were four times more likely (PR=4.01; CI 95%= 2.71–5.93) to have excess weight and nine times more likely (PR=9.30; CI 95%=6.29–13.78) to have symptoms for ED. The prevalence rates of ED symptoms, obesity and overweight of the evaluated students are high and warrant the attention of the community as a whole.