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. 2024 Aug 13;11(8):976.
doi: 10.3390/children11080976.

Tracking the Prevalence of Obesity in Portuguese School-Aged Children: What Future to Expect?

Nelson Valente  1   2   3 , Pedro Forte  2   4   5   6   7 , José E Teixeira  4   5   8   9 , Pedro Afonso  10 , Sérgio Ferreira  7 , Daniel A Marinho  5   11 , Pedro Duarte Mendes  9   12 , Ricardo Ferraz  5   11 , Luís Branquinho  1   2   3   5
Affiliations

Tracking the Prevalence of Obesity in Portuguese School-Aged Children: What Future to Expect?

Nelson Valente et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity presents a significant public health concern globally, with implications for cardiovascular health and metabolic syndrome. In Portugal, approximately 31.6% of children are affected, highlighting the urgency for intervention strategies. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Portuguese school-aged children, with a focus on sex and age differences.

Methods: Anthropometric measurements were conducted on 1564 children aged 6-10 years, including weight, height, and skinfold thickness. Body Mass Index (BMI) and the percentage of body fat were calculated using established methods.

Results: The results revealed significant differences in BMI (≤0.001) and body fat percentage (≤0.001) among different BMI categories, with a notable prevalence of overweight and obesity, particularly among boys. A total of 37% of the studied population is overweight or obese, among which 40.1% and 33.9% are boys and girls, respectively.

Conclusions: This study highlights statistically significant differences in BMI and body fat percentage for both sexes in different BMI categories. A large proportion of the population is overweight or obese, with a greater prevalence in boys. In short, childhood obesity has a negative impact on body composition and is associated with significant differences in anthropometric parameters, emphasizing the importance of preventative and intervention strategies to address this health problem.

Keywords: body composition; cardiovascular health; childhood.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Materials used to assess body composition (BC).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage distribution of the entire sample by BMI categories (n = 1564).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage distribution of the entire sample, by gender and BMI categories (total n = 1564).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution of the average percentages of MG for the entire studied population, by gender and age.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Curves of the BMI percentile values of the study sample compared to the WHO percentile values, for males at different ages (n = 792).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Curves of the BMI percentile values of the study sample compared to the WHO percentile values, for females at different ages (n = 772).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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