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- Title
Correlates of Overweight in Children and Adolescents Living at Different Altitudes: The Peruvian Health and Optimist Growth Study.
- Authors
Santos, Carla; Bustamante, Alcibíades; Hedeker, Donald; Vasconcelos, Olga; Garganta, Rui; Katzmarzyk, Peter T.; Maia, José
- Abstract
Background and Aim. Overweight prevalence in children and adolescents shows great variability which is related to individual-level and environmental-level factors. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with overweight in Peruvian children and adolescents living at different altitudes. Methods. 8568 subjects, aged 6–16 y, from the sea level, Amazon, and high-altitude regions were sampled. Overweight was identified using BMI; biological maturation and physical fitness were measured; school characteristics were assessed via an objective audit. Results. Overweight prevalence decreased with age (28.3% at 6 y to 13.9% at 16 y); it was higher in girls (21.7%) than boys (19.8%) and was higher at the sea level (41.3%), compared with Amazon (18.8%) and high-altitude (6.3%) regions. Approximately 79% of the variance in overweight was explained by child-level characteristics. In Model 1, all child-level predictors were significant (p<0.001); in Model 2, six out of nine added school-level predictors (number of students, existence of policies and practices for physical activity, multisports-roofed, duration of Physical Education classes, and extracurricular activities) were significant (p<0.001); in Model 3, subjects living at high altitudes were less likely to be overweight than those living at the sea level. Conclusions. Child- and school-level variables played important roles in explaining overweight variation. This information should be taken into account when designing more efficient strategies to combat the overweight and obesity epidemic.
- Subjects
PERU; RISK of childhood obesity; ADOLESCENCE; ALTITUDES; AUDITING; CHILD development; CHILD behavior; CHILDREN'S health; HEALTH policy; CHILDHOOD obesity; PHYSICAL education; PHYSICAL fitness; POPULATION geography; PUBERTY; RISK assessment; SCHOOL administration; SEX distribution; SPORTS facilities; STUDENT health; TEENAGERS' conduct of life; ADOLESCENT health; BODY mass index; PHYSICAL activity
- Publication
Journal of Obesity, 2019, p1
- ISSN
2090-0708
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1155/2019/2631713