Abstract

Excess weight in childhood is a predictor of co morbidity in adulthood. This research aimed to identify factors associated with overweight among schoolchildren. This cross-sectional study involved children of both sexes aged between six and 10.9 years of age, enrolled in 24 public and private schools in the urban region of Maringá, Paraná, southern Brazil. The collection were done in the school environment, with measurement of the weight and height defined by calculating the Body Mass Index (Cole et al 2000; 2007). The socioeconomic status of families was considered the guidelines of ABEP (2008). For the statistical analysis it was used the variance analysis model and the χ² test, considering p<0.05. The total evaluation of variables was done getting adjusted to a model of Multinomial Logistic Regression considering the nutritional condition as response variable and the age, gender, socioeconomic status and Body Mass Index as explanatory variables. This project was approved by the Permanent Ethic Committee of Researches involving human beings from UEM. From 5037 schoolchildren, 53.2% were female, age range 8.7±1.3 years old and 24.1% presented excess weight. Overweight children from private schools and better socio-economic conditions showed positive relation with the excess weight (p<0.001) and children younger than 8 years old have more chances of being overweight (p=0.038). The impact of these results accelerates the urgency of preventive actions towards overweight and its intercorrences in precoce ages.