Parental Perceived Travel Time to and Reported Use of Food Retailers in Association with School Children's Dietary Patterns.

Considering the association between the neighborhood food environment and individual eating behaviors, this study aimed to assess the association between parents' reported use of food facilities by their children, and parental perceived travel time to food facilities, with their children's dietary patterns. Parents reported the use of supermarkets, full-service and fast-food restaurants, and perceived travel time to these food retailers. To assess school children's food consumption, a previous day dietary recall was applied. Factor analysis was conducted to identify dietary patterns. To test the association between reported use and perceived travel time to food retailers and school children's dietary patterns, we performed multilevel linear regression analyses. Parents' reported use of supermarkets was associated with children's higher score in the "Morning/Evening Meal" pattern. The use of full-service and fast-food restaurants was associated with children's higher score in the "Fast Food" pattern. Higher parental perceived travel time to full-service and fast-food restaurants was associated with children's lower score in the "Fast Food" pattern. Although the use of full-service and fast-food restaurants was associated with a less healthy dietary pattern, the perception of living further away from these food retailers may pose a barrier for the use of these facilities.

Association between food, physical activity, and social assistance environments and the body mass index of schoolchildren from different socioeconomic strata.

The aim of this article was to evaluate associations between body mass index (BMI) and use of and distance from subjects homes of elements of the food and physical activity environments and use of social assistance environment, in schoolchildren from 7 to 14 years living in Florianópolis (South Brazil), stratified by monthly family income. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a probabilistic sample of 2152 schoolchildren. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to test for associations between BMI and the use of and distance from supermarkets, bakeries and farmers' markets; use of and distance from parks/playgrounds and football pitches; and use of health centers, Reference Centers for Social Assistance, instructional facilities, residents associations, religious groups and a Brazilian program for cash transfer. Overweight and obesity rates were 21.5 and 12.7%, respectively. Among schoolchildren from low-income families, living more than 11 min' walk from parks/playgrounds was associated with higher BMI (ß = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.33-0.73). In the high-income strata, a longer distance from home to football pitches was associated with lower BMI (ß = -0.49; 95% CI = -0.69; -0.29). Neither food nor social assistance environments were associated with BMI of schoolchildren, even when analyzed by income strata.

Utilization and environmental availability of food outlets and overweight/obesity among schoolchildren in a city in the south of Brazil.

Among the causes of obesity, environmental factors have also been studied, in addition to genetic, social, psychological, and hormonal factors. The distribution of food outlets, facilitating or hindering food acquisition, can promote body weight control by encouraging healthier food habits. The objective of this study was to investigate associations between environmental availability and utilization of food outlets and overweight/obesity in 7 to 14-year-old schoolchildren in Florianópolis, in the South of Brazil. A logistic regression analysis identified a positive association between overweight/obesity in 2195 schoolchildren and the presence of restaurants in the vicinity of their homes (buffer = 400 meters). Being a member of a family that utilizes public markets/greengrocers was also positively associated with overweight/obesity in the sample investigated. Identifying the distribution of these establishments in the vicinity of the homes of schoolchildren in middle-income countries is an important element in understanding the role played by the food environment in weight gain in a variety of different settings.

Prevalence and distribution of risk factors for non-communicable chronic diseases among adults from Lages city, south of Brazil, 2007.

OBJECTIVE: To describe prevalence and the distribution of risk factors to non-communicable chronic diseases among adults from Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil. METHODS: Probabilistic sample of adult urban population, of both genders and aged from 20 to 59 years old was interviewed (n=2022). The sample process was made through conglomerates. It was applied a structured questionnaire with questions related to demographical, socio-economical, and behavior and self-referred diseases. In this study the following informations, related to the risk/protection factors for non-communicable chronic diseases, were used: gender, age, school background, body mass index, waist circumference, smoking, physical activity, pressure levels, self-referred mellitus diabetes and feeding characteristics. Prevalence for risk/protection factors for non-communicable chronic diseases, in the total population and according to gender and school background, was calculated. RESULTS: The studied population is prone to non-communicable chronic diseases, presenting substantial proportions of hypertension (33.78%), overweight individuals (33.46%), obesity (23.46%) and abdominal obesity (43.81%). In relation to feeding characteristics, women presented higher prevalence of behaviors considered as protection factors, relative to men. It was found less than 30.0% of physically inactive individuals and 45.9% of smokers or ex-smokers. CONCLUSION: Descriptive studies such as this could be the basis for the development of public policies specific to the adult population of Lages, in order to guide the organization, planning and quality improvement of health assistance services, aiming the reduction in the occurrence and in the impact of non-communicable chronic diseases.

[Obesity in adults: a population based study in a small town in South of Brazil, 2005]. / Obesidade em adultos: estudo de base populacional num município de pequeno porte no sul do Brasil em 2005.

Changes in nutritional pattern in Brazilian population have been observed mainly in relation to obesity increase. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of obesity and associated factors in adult population in Santo Angelo, Rio Grande do Sul State, 2005. A cross sectional study was carried out involving adult subjects from 20 to 59 years old (n=434), of both sexes. People with Body Mass Index equal to or higher than 30 kg/m(2) were considered obese. A questionnaire was applied to collect data related to socioeconomic, demographic, and behavioral conditions. The multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the associated factors. The response rate was 95.0% and the prevalence of obesity was equal to 16.6% (CI 95% 13.120.1). Presence of obesity was positively associated with lack of physical activity, none feeding habits care, and some individuals that mentioned current health problems regardless of sex. The prevalence of obesity found was similar to other Brazilian population based studies. The results may support planning and implementing prevention actions as well as obesity control in adult population taking into account the relevant details of a small size town.

Malnutrition, long-term health and the effect of nutritional recovery.

It is estimated that over 51 million people in Brazil live in slums, areas where a high prevalence of malnutrition is also found. In general, the population of 'slum dwellers' is growing at a faster rate than urban populations. This condition is associated with poor sanitation, unhealthy food habits, low birthweight, and stunting. Stunting is of particular concern as longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of stunted adolescents have shown a high susceptibility to gain central fat, lower fat oxidation, and lower resting and postprandial energy expenditure. In addition, higher blood pressure, higher plasma uric acid and impaired flow-mediated vascular dilation were all associated with a higher level of hypertension in low birthweight and stunted children. In particular, stunted boys and girls also showed lower insulin production by pancreatic beta cells. All these factors are linked with a higher risk of chronic diseases later in life. Among stunted adults, alterations in plasma lipids, glucose and insulin have also been reported. However, adequate nutritional recovery with linear catch-up growth, after treatment in nutritional rehabilitation centers, can moderate the alterations in body composition, bone density and insulin production.

Malnourished children treated in day-hospital or outpatient clinics exhibit linear catch-up and normal body composition.

The nutritional programming hypothesis proposes that early life malnutrition is related to an increase in body fat later in life. Brazilian boys and girls (n = 94; 4-14 y old) were studied. Malnourished children treated in a Nutrition Recovery Center, were followed up and divided into 2 groups: the Outpatient group (recovered after outpatient care, n = 28), and the Day-hospital group (recovered after day-hospital care, n = 38). They were compared with a Control group (healthy individuals without intervention, n = 28). Nutritional recovery was confirmed by anthropometry. Body composition was evaluated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Both recovered groups had a greater increase in height-for-age Z-scores than in weight-for-age Z-scores after treatment (P < 0.03). Body fat mass (kg) and the percentage of body fat were significantly lower in recovered groups of girls and boys compared with controls. Among boys, lean mass/height (kg/cm), fat-free mass (kg) and the fat-free mass index (kg/m(2)) were significantly lower in the Outpatient and Day-hospital groups than in Controls, but girls did not differ. Bone mineral content (BMC)/height (g/cm) did not differ between the recovered girls and the girls in the Control group (P < 0.15) or between the boys in the Day-hospital group and those in the Control group (P = 0.06). The Outpatient boys group had lower BMC/height than boys in the Control group (P = 0.02). This study demonstrates that when malnourished children receive adequate treatment, linear catch-up growth occurs and is followed by appropriate gain in lean body mass and BMC.