Incidence of overweight children in school years and its relation with prenatal factors

Resumen

Objective: To estimate the incidence of excess of body weight in the school period and explore possible association with prenatal factors. Methodology: An epidemiological study with a longitudinal design was carried out. All children from the first to the fifth grade of elementary school, aged between seven and 10 years old, enrolled in public and private schools and from families residing in Palhoça City, Santa Catarina State, who had participated in the previous stage of the study in 2015, were included. To obtain the BMI, weight and height were collected in schools. Data related to the prenatal period were obtained with interviews with mothers or guardians, at home. The analyses were performed using Poisson Regression with a robust estimator. Statistically significant variables and those with p ≤ 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were included in the multivariate. Results: 228 students were included. The incidence rate of excess weight was 19.3%, with 17.1% being overweight and 2.2% being obese. The results of the multivariate analysis showed that students who were born with Apgar in the first minute ≤ 7 had a statistically significant risk and 34% higher relative risk of developing excess weight in the school period. Conclusion: The incidence of overweight was 19.3%. Prenatal factors were not associated with incidence, except for a low Apgar score in the first minute.