Prevalence of overweight and obesity in middle school students from the city of Maringá-PR

Abstract

The prevalence of obese children and adolescents has been gradually increasing, becoming a serious public health problem. In this direction, epidemiological studies in children and adolescents are important for the analysis of the proportion of this growth in this population. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in students from the fifth to the eighth grades in public schools in Maringá – Pr. The sample consisted of 109 middle school students, aged between 10 and 14. In order to carry out the research, the following anthropometric variables were measured: Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index (BMI). The statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and Prism 4.0. The main results showed that 43.2% of students are overweight and/or obese (45.1% of girls; 41.4% of boys). With these results at hand, we consider that the school, teachers and family must provide programs for the treatment and prevention of this infirmity. Therefore, we propose, in addition to the inclusion of health content in the school programs, that adequate food and regular physical activity be emphasized and stimulated, along with actions that involve families and the community, aiming at making everyone aware of the importance of healthy life habits related to the promotion of health.