Utilização da Razão Cintura-Estatura na avaliação nutricional na primeira fase da adolescência / The use of Waist-to-Height Ratio for nutritional assessment in the first phase of adolescence

Objetivo: Este estudo visou avaliar o desempenho da razão cintura-estatura (RCE) como indicador complementar do estado nutricional na primeira fase da adolescência. Métodos: Trata-se de estudo transversal com 148 adolescentes (10 a 13 anos de idade) de duas escolas de Macaé, RJ, realizado em 2016/2017. Foram coletadas informações de maturação sexual, peso, estatura e perímetro da cintura (PC). Para verificar como as classificações do índice de massa corporal-para-idade (IMC/I), PC e RCE dialogam em termos de triagem de risco em saúde, foi feito o teste Kappa. Os limites máximos de sensibilidade e especificidade da RCE segundo o IMC/I foram analisados pela curva ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristics). Resultados: Dentre os avaliados, 51,4% eram meninas e mais de 60% encontravam-se nos dois primeiros estágios de maturação sexual. A prevalência de excesso de peso (sobrepeso+obesidade) foi 31,8%, obesidade 17,6% e RCE elevada 20,3%, sem diferença segundo sexo e maturação sexual. A RCE apresentou boa concordância com excesso de peso (Kappa=0,707) e obesidade (Kappa=0,780). Já a concordância entre IMC/I e PC foi pobre. O valor de 0,45 da RCE foi o ponto de corte mais adequado para identificar os adolescentes com excesso de peso. Conclusões: Este trabalho sugere que a RCE apresenta melhor desempenho que o PC como indicador complementar do estado nutricional no início da adolescência. A RCE agrega informação sobre a gordura central ponderada pela estatura, não requer curva de comparação e apresenta ponto de corte, o que facilita ações de triagem nos serviços de saúde e em estudos epidemiológicos.

Objective: This study evaluated the performance of the Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHR) as an additional indicator of nutritional status in the first phase of adolescence. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, developed in 2016/2017, with 148 adolescents (10 to 13 years old) from two public schools of Macaé, a municipality in Rio de Janeiro, Southeast Brazil. We collected information on sexual maturation, weight, height, and waist circumference (WC). The Kappa Test was performed to verify the accordance among Body Mass Index-for-Age (BMI/A), WC, and WHR in relation to health risk screening. The maximum limits of sensitivity and specificity of WHR according to BMI/A were analyzed by ROC curve (Receiver Operating Characteristics). Results: Among the participants, 51.4% were girls, and more than 60% were in the first two stages of sexual maturation. The prevalence of excess weight (overweight+obesity) was 31.8%, obesity 17.6%, and high WHR 20.3%, with no difference according to sex and sexual maturation. WHR showed good agreement with excess weight (Kappa=0.707) and obesity (Kappa=0.780). The agreement between BMI/A and WC was poor. The value 0.45 was the most appropriate WHR cutoff point to identify adolescents with excess weight. Conclusions: This study suggests that WHR performs better than WC as an additional indicator of nutritional status in early adolescence. WHR brings information on central adiposity weighted by height, does not require a comparison curve, and has a cutoff point, which may facilitate screening in health services and epidemiological studies.

School Feeding and Food and Nutrition Security in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Northern Region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Due to the pandemic and the suspension of in-person school classes, there was an interruption in the meals served to approximately 40 million students who benefited from the Brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE). This article describes two case studies, comparing the strategies adopted by two municipalities for maintaining school feeding during the Covid-19 pandemic in the northern region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and discuss possible impacts of these strategies on food and nutrition security. These municipalities together cover about 81% of the population in the region. In July 2020, we conducted interviews with PNAE municipal managers, following a qualitative approach. We discuss the results in relation to existing Brazilian guidance on food and nutrition security. The municipalities have developed distinct strategies to overcome operational obstacles and maintain PNAE goals, such as distributing food kits and making cash transfers to students' families. The main determinants of these strategies are financial availability, the relationship between municipal teams and school communities, and the pre-pandemic PNAE logistics and management. Depending on the strategy and duration of the pandemic, the impacts on food and nutrition security can be wide-ranging, affecting food quality and local farmers who sell products to PNAE. It is necessary to acknowledge that this is not a short-term pandemic and find ways to perform school feeding in accordance with PNAE criteria.