Nutritional state and adiposity of the students from different Brazilian cities

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the nutritional state and adiposity rates among nine hundred and sixty students aged 7 to 14 years, who have been attending public schools in Florianópolis/SC and Pelotas/RS cities. The antropometric measurements collected were: body weight, body height and tricipital and subscapular skinfolds. The nutritional condition was evaluated using the “Weight to Height Index” (W/H) and “Body Mass Index” percentage (BMI). To evaluate the adiposity of the students the tricipital and subscapular skinfolds were added together (LOHMAN,1986). Evaluating the findings, one can conclude that the students from Pelotas presented higher indexes of body weight, body height and adiposity; ninety percent of the students are within the normal limits, six to nine percent are overweight and 0.4 to 0.8 percent are underweight.