Additional Cardiovascular Risk Factors Associated with Excess Weight in Children and Adolescents.
The Belo Horizonte Heart Study.
Robespierre Q. C. Ribeiro, Paulo A. Lotufo, Joel A. Lamounier, Reynaldo G. Oliveira, José Francisco Soares, Denise Aparecida Botter
São Paulo, SP – Belo Horizonte, MG
Universidade de São Paulo(USP) and Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais(UFMG)
Mailing address: Robespierre Q. C. Ribeiro – Alameda Guilherme Henrique Daniel, 94/302 – 30220-200 – Belo Horizonte, MG - E-mail: dr.robespierre@gmail.com, rqueiroz@cardiol.br
Objective – To examine the association of overweight and obesity with physical activity, blood pressure (BP) and serum lipid profiles.
Methods – Epidemiologic investigation of 1,450 students, between the ages of 6 and 18, in the city of Belo Horizonte, MG. Data: weight, height, BP, skinfold thickness, waist circumference, physical activity, total cholesterol (TC), LDL-c, HDL-c, and dietary habits.
Results – The prevalence rates for overweight and obesity were 8.4% and 3.1%, respectively. In relation to the students in the lower quartile (Q1) of the distribution of subscapular skinfold, the students in the upper quartile (Q4) presented a 3.7 times higher risk (odds ratio) of having elevated TC levels. Considering the sum of the three skinfolds, those in Q4 had a 3.3 times higher risk of having elevated LDL-c levels. Students with BMI < 85th percentile and in the Q1 of the waist-hip ratio distribution presented odds ratios of 2.2 and 2.5 respectively, to have desirable HDL-c levels compared to those with overweight and central body fat. Overweight and obese students had a 3.6 times higher risk of having elevated systolic blood pressure, and a 2.7 times higher risk of elevated diastolic blood pressure when compared to normal weight students. The less active students in the Q1 of distribution of MET presented a 3.8 times higher risk of having elevated TC levels compared to those who were more active (Q4).
Conclusion - Students who were overweight, obese or in the upper quartiles for other adiposity variables, as well as students with low levels of physical activity or a sedentary lifestyle presented higher blood pressure levels and a lipid profile indicative of an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis.
Key words: obesity, blood pressure, physical activity, nutrition, childhood, adolescents, developing country