Abstract

MORINIGO ISLA, Geraldine et al. Nutritional profile of schoolchildren and adolescents in public and private schools, 2013. Pediatr. (Asunción) [online]. 2015, vol.42, n.2, pp.129-133. ISSN 1683-9803.  https://doi.org/10.18004/ped.2015.agosto.129-133.

Introduction: With the emergence of excess weight as a risk factor for chronic diseases, early detection of this risk factor is important in children and adolescents. Objective: Determine the nutritional status of children and adolescents attending public and private schools. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study of a nationally representative sample of children and adolescents 5-19 years of age in public and private schools. Nutritional assessment was performed by anthropometry (BMI scores and Age/height measurements) according to WHO criteria. Results: We evaluated a total of 8,799 subjects, with a mean age of 12.4 years; 49.4% were female; 69.3% attended public schools. Malnutrition was present in 2%; 18.4% were overweight, and obesity was present in 11.1%.  Short stature for age was found in 3.3%. There was a higher percentage of obesity in boys (12.9% vs 9.3%; _X2 p <0.00001), in those attending private schools (14.8% vs 9.4%; _X2 p <0.00001) and in the 5-9 years of age group (13.6% vs 9.2%; _X2 p <0.00001) Conclusions: Being overweight is the main nutritional problem in children and adolescents, with a higher prevalence in males in private-sector schools and in the 5-9 years of age group.

Keywords : School; adolescents; overweight; obesity.

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