Mother's overweight, parents' constant limitation on the foods and frequent snack as risk factors for obesity among children in Brazil.

摘要

Obesity is a chronic disease in which environmental factors can be involved in the aetiology. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for obesity in children from Vicosa county, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Study participants were 50 eutrophic and 50 obese children, paired according to gender, age and socioeconomic condition. This sample was selected based on the nutritional evaluation of 2074 children aged 6-8 years who were attending either private and public urban schools in Vicosa. Children's and parents' nutritional states were classified according to CDC (2000) and WHO (1998), respectively. Using questionnaires, the following data were collected: family structure, socioeconomic level, obesity presence and dyslipidemia in close family relatives, breast feeding, birth weight, child's gestation conditions, feeding habits, and lifestyles of both children and parents. According to the multiple logistic regression analysis, the risk factors for childhood obesity were: overweight mother (BMI>=25 Kg/m2; OR: 70.49; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.17-182.74), parents' constant limitation on the foods consumed by the child (OR: 62.91; 95% CI: 5.37-92.08), and frequent snack the child uses to consume in commercial establishments (OR: 10.44; 95% CI: 1.30-83.92), which were mostly represented by high-calorie foods, such as fried salty foods and soft drinks (78.6%). It is concluded that the success of childhood obesity treatment in this population includes the parents' decreased overweight, mainly the mother's, and their consciousness of the adequate feeding habit, because family's undesirable practices contribute to the permanence of obesity in childhood, such as constant limitation of ingested foods and frequent snacks in commercial establishments.