[Prevalence of and risk factors for overweight among school girls 12 to 19 years old in a semi-urban region of Ecuador]

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of overweight and identify its risk factors in school girls between the ages of 12 and 19 in a semi-urban region of Ecuador and to explore the potential relationship between the adolescents' body mass index (BMI) and their physical activity, caloric intake, and macronutrient intake, as well as between their BMI and their parents' estimated BMI.

Methods: From January through April 2001 a cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 302 adolescent girls who attended high schools in Cumbaya and Tumbaco (14 km northeast of Quito) and who were selected by systematic random sampling. Anthropometric measurements were taken on all girls and their total calorie and macronutrient intake was measured by means of a 24-hour recall questionnaire. A physical activity questionnaire was also administered, and estimates were made of their parents' BMI.

Results: Of the study participants, 8.3% were overweight and 0.7% were obese. In 40.7% of the first group, the excess body weight had a gluteofemoral distribution; in 51.9%, it had an intermediate type of distribution; and in 3.7% it had an abdominal distribution. There was a negative correlation between the adolescents' BMI and their physical activity and calorie intake (P < 0.05), whereas a positive correlation was seen between their BMI and the mother's estimated BMI (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight found in this study is similar to that found in an earlier country-wide study but was less than that detected in reports from industrialized countries and other countries of Latin America. Factors appearing to have the greatest impact on an adolescent girl's BMI were physical activity and estimated maternal BMI, regardless of total energy intake and dietary composition.