Body mass index and association with use of and distance from places for physical activity and active leisure among schoolchildren in Brazil. Cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: We evaluated associations between use of public places for physical activity and active leisure (PAAL) and their distances from subjects' homes and indicators of overweight and obesity, among schoolchildren from different socioeconomic levels, in the city of Florianópolis, Brazil. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 2,152 schoolchildren aged 7 to 14 years, enrolled at 30 public and private schools. METHODS: The exposure variables were the use of public places for PAAL in the neighborhood and their distance from schoolchildren's homes. The outcomes were body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted according to income strata. RESULTS: Among the schoolchildren from low-income families, living closer to parks/playgrounds was associated with lower BMI (β = -2.15; 95% confidence interval, CI = -2.53; -1.77) and lower WC (β = -0.11 95% CI = -0.17; -0.05), while living at these distances from football pitches was associated with higher BMI (β = 1.73; 95% CI = 0.31; 3.15) and larger WC measurements (β = 0.03; 95% CI = 0.005; 0.14). Among the schoolchildren in low-income groups, living at an intermediate distance from beaches was associated with lower BMI (β = -1.10; 95% CI = -1.61; -0.59). CONCLUSION: Living closer to parks/playgrounds was associated with lower BMI and WC among schoolchildren from low-income families. Living closer to football pitches was associated with higher BMI and WC among these schoolchildren. Living at intermediate distances from beaches was associated with lower BMI among these schoolchildren.

Utilization of food outlets and intake of minimally processed and ultra-processed foods among 7 to 14-year-old schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Access to food retailers is an environmental determinant that influences what people consume. This study aimed to test the association between the use of food outlets and schoolchildren's intake of minimally processed and ultra-processed foods. DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in public and private schools in Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, from September 2012 to June 2013. METHODS: The sample consisted of randomly selected clusters of schoolchildren aged 7 to 14 years, who were attending 30 schools. Parents or guardians provided socioeconomic and demographic data and answered questions about use of food outlets. Dietary intake was surveyed using a dietary recall questionnaire based on the previous day's intake. The foods or food groups were classified according to the level of processing. Negative binomial regression was used for data analysis. RESULTS: We included 2,195 schoolchildren in the study. We found that buying foods from snack bars or fast-food outlets was associated with the intake frequency of ultra-processed foods among 11-14 years old in an adjusted model (incidence rate ratio, IRR: 1.11; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.01;1.23). Use of butchers was associated with the intake frequency of unprocessed/minimally processed foods among children 11-14 years old in the crude model (IRR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.01;1.22) and in the adjusted model (IRR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.06;1.17). CONCLUSIONS: Use of butchers was associated with higher intake of unprocessed/minimally processed foods while use of snack bars or fast-food outlets may have a negative impact on schoolchildren's dietary habits.

Evidences of the association between individual attributes and bullying: a cross-sectional study with adolescents from Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil / Evidências da associação entre atributos individuais e bullying: um estudo transversal em adolescentes de Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil / Evidencias de asociación entre atributos individuales y bullying: un estudio transversal con adolescentes de Florianópolis, Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of bullying and to verify the association between nutritional status, demographic and socioeconomic factors, and individual attributes among schoolchildren aged from 11 to 14 years. This is cross-sectional study with a probabilistic sample of 975 adolescents attending public and private schools in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Bullying was investigated with a self-administered questionnaire by applying Item Response Theory and dichotomized according to victimization or not. Body mass index (BMI) was classified according to the World Health Organization criteria. Data such as age, school type and location, household income, as well as the education background of the parents were collected by a questionnaire given to the parents. Crude and adjusted analyses were performed using logistic regression. The prevalence of victims of bullying and of overweight/obese adolescents was 13.2% and 29%, respectively. No association was found between bullying and age, sex, school type, mother's education, household income, and overweight/obesity. The crude analysis model indicated that overweight/obese adolescents and those with individual attributes (fat, thin, tall, short, good-looking, ugly, from a different ethnic background, rich, poor, with a disability and/or other) had a greater chance of being bullied. In the analysis model adjusted by household income and stratified by sex, boys were discriminated for being fat, good-looking, ugly, or for having a disability, while girls were discriminated for being fat, tall, short, ugly, rich, poor, among other individual attributes.

O estudo teve como objetivos estimar a prevalência de bullying e verificar a associação entre estado nutricional, fatores demográficos e socioeconômicos e atributos individuais em escolares entre 11 e 14 anos de idade. O estudo transversal usou uma amostra probabilística de 975 adolescentes matriculados em escolas públicas e privadas em Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil. O bullying foi investigado com um questionário auto-administrado, aplicando a Teoria da Resposta ao Item, e dicotomizado de acordo com a presença ou ausência de vitimização. O índice de massa corporal (IMC) foi classificado de acordo com os critérios da Organização Mundial da Saúde. Dados como idade, tipo e localização da escola, renda familiar e escolaridade dos pais foram coletados com um questionário entregue aos pais ou responsáveis. A regressão logística foi usada para as análises brutas e ajustadas. As taxas de prevalência de vitimização pelo bullying e de sobrepeso/obesidade foram 13,2% e 29%, respectivamente. Não houve associação entre bullying e idade, gênero, tipo de escola, escolaridade materna, renda familiar ou sobrepeso/obesidade. A análise não-ajustada indicou que os adolescentes com sobrepeso/obesidade e aqueles com determinados atributos individuais (gordo, magro, alto, baixo, bonito, feio, pertencente a outro grupo étnico, rico, pobre, portador de deficiência e/ou outros) tinham maior probabilidade de sofrerem bullying. Na análise ajustada para renda familiar e estratificada por gênero, os meninos eram discriminados por serem gordos, bonitos, feios, ou por serem portadores de deficiência, enquanto as meninas eram discriminadas por serem gordas, altas, baixas, feias, ricas ou pobres, entre outros atributos individuais.

El objetivo de este estudio fue estimar la prevalencia de bullying y verificar la asociación entre estatus nutricional, factores demográficos y socioeconómicos, así como atributos individuales, entre escolares con edades comprendidas entre los 11 a los 14 años. Este estudio transversal con una muestra probabilística de 975 adolescentes inscritos en escuelas públicas y privadas en Florianópolis, Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. El bullying se investigó mediante un cuestionario autoadministrado, a través de la aplicación de la teoría respuesta al ítem y con dicotomización, según la existencia de victimización o no. El índice de masa corporal (IMC) se clasificó según criterios de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Se recogieron datos como: edad, tipo de escuela y ubicación, ingresos por hogar, así como formación educativa de los padres mediante un cuestionario entregado a los padres. Se realizaron análisis crudos y ajustados usando regresión logística. La prevalencia de víctimas de bullying y los adolescentes con sobrepeso/obesos fue de un 13,2% y un 29%, respectivamente. No se encontró asociación entre el bullying y la edad, sexo, tipo de escuela, educación de la madre, ingresos por hogar, y sobrepeso/obesidad. El modelo de análisis crudo de adolescentes con sobrepeso/obesos y aquellos con atributos individuales (gordo, flaco, alto, bajo, guapo, feo, procedente de un grupo étnico diferente, rico, pobre, con una discapacidad y/u otros) tenían mayores probabilidades de sufrir bullying. En el análisis del modelo ajustado por ingresos por hogar, y estratificado por sexo, los chicos fueron discriminados por ser gordos, guapos, feos, o por sufrir una discapacidad, mientras que las chicas lo fueron por ser gordas, altas, bajas, feas, ricas, pobres entre otros atributos individuales.

Geographic and socioeconomic distribution of food vendors: a case study of a municipality in the Southern Brazil / Distribuição geográfica e socioeconômica de comerciantes de alimentos: um estudo de caso de um município no Sul do Brasil / Distribución geográfica y socioeconómica de comerciantes de alimentos: un estudio de caso de un municipio en el sur de Brasil

Abstract: The objective of this study was to identify the food vendor distribution profile of the city of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, and investigate its association with the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of different municipal regions. This descriptive, cross-sectional study obtained the location of food vendors from secondary data from different institutional sources. The density of different types of food vendors per 1,000 inhabitants in each municipal weighted area was calculated. The Kruskal-Wallis test compared the mean density of food vendors and the weighted income areas. The lowest-income regions had the lowest density of butchers, snack bars, supermarkets, bakeries/pastry shops, natural product stores, juice bars, and convenience stores. The identification of these areas may encourage the creation of public policies that facilitate healthy food startups and/or maintenance of healthy food vendors, especially in the lowest-income regions.

Resumo: Os objetivos desse estudo foram identificar o perfil de distribuição de comerciantes de alimentos no Município de Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil, e investigar a associação com as características das diferentes regiões do município. O estudo transversal, descritivo, obteve a localização dos comerciantes de alimentos a partir de dados secundários de diferentes fontes institucionais. Foi calculada a densidade dos diferentes tipos de comerciantes por mil habitantes em cada área ponderada do município. O teste de Kruskal-Wallis foi usado para comparar a densidade média de comerciantes de alimentos com as regiões do município, ponderadas por renda. As áreas de menor renda tiveram a menor densidade de açougueiros, lanchonetes, supermercados, padarias/pastelarias, lojas de produtos naturais, lojas de sucos e lojas de conveniência. A identificação dessas áreas pode incentivar a elaboração de políticas públicas que facilitem empreendimentos novos de comercialização de alimentos saudáveis e/ou a manutenção dos estabelecimentos de alimentos saudáveis, principalmente nas áreas de menor renda.

Resumen: Los objetivos de este estudio fueron identificar el perfil de distribución de comerciantes de alimentos en el municipio de Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil, e investigar la asociación con las características de las diferentes regiones del municipio. El estudio transversal, descriptivo, obtuvo la localización de los comerciantes de alimentos, a partir de datos secundarios de diferentes fuentes institucionales. Se calculó la densidad de los diferentes tipos de comerciantes por 1.000 habitantes en cada área ponderada del municipio. El test de Kruskal-Wallis se usó para comparar la densidad media de comerciantes de alimentos con las regiones del municipio, ponderadas por renda. Las áreas de menor renta tuvieron la menor densidad de carnicerías, bares de aperitivos, supermercados, panaderías/bocaterías, tiendas de productos naturales, tiendas de zumos y tiendas 24hrs. La identificación de esas áreas puede incentivar la elaboración de políticas públicas que faciliten emprendimientos nuevos de comercialización de alimentos saludables y/o el mantenimiento de los establecimientos de alimentos saludables, principalmente en las áreas de menor renta.

Alimentação complementar e características maternas de crianças menores de dois anos de idade em Florianópolis (SC) / Complementary feeding and maternal characteristics of children younger than two years old in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

OBJETIVO: Verificar a associação entre o período de introdução de alimentos complementares e características socioeconômicas maternas e biológicas de crianças menores de dois anos de idade. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com 516 mães de crianças com menos de dois anos de idade entrevistadas no dia da Campanha Nacional de Vacinação em Unidades de Saúde de 2004 na cidade de Florianópolis (SC). Foram coletados dados sobre a época de introdução de alimentos complementares e características socioeconômicas maternas e biológicas da criança. A análise de regressão logística múltipla foi aplicada para verificar a associação da introdução de cada tipo de alimento com as características estudadas. RESULTADOS: Constatou-se que, dentre as crianças menores de dois anos de idade, apenas 28,7 por cento haviam recebido aleitamento materno exclusivo até os seis meses e, dentre as crianças que estavam com menos de seis meses no momento da pesquisa, apenas 49,6 por cento estavam recebendo aleitamento materno exclusivo. Observou-se, ainda, que 80 por cento das crianças receberam fruta, 77,5 por cento receberam suco natural associados ao aleitamento materno e 36,8 por cento receberam leite modificado, em substituição ao aleitamento materno, antes de completarem seis meses de idade. A análise de regressão multivariada identificou que as mães com menor grau de escolaridade e que trabalhavam fora de casa apresentaram mais chance de introduzir precocemente alimentos aos seus filhos. CONCLUSÕES: Baixa escolaridade materna e atividade fora do lar se associaram à introdução precoce de alimentos.

OBJECTIVE: In children younger than two years old, to verify the association between complementary food introduction, socioeconomic characteristics of mothers and biological characteristics of children. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 516 mothers of children younger than two years old who were interviewed during 2004 national campaign for vaccination in health care clinics of Florianópolis, in the Southern region of Brazil. Data regarding introduction of complementary food, socioeconomic characteristics of the mothers and biological characteristics of the children were collected. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to verify whether the introduction of complementary food was associated with socioeconomic characteristics of the family. RESULTS: Among children younger than two years old, only 28.7 percent received exclusive breastfeeding until six months. Among children younger than six months, only 49.6 percent were on exclusive breastfeeding at the time of the interview. Among all studied children, 80 percent received fruit, 77.5 percent natural juice along with breastfeeding and 36.8 percent received modified milk in substitution to breastfeeding before six months of age. Multivariate regression analysis identified that families with low educational level and working mother had more chance to introduce complementary food earlier. CONCLUSIONS: Low educational level and working mothers were risk factors for early introduction of complementary food.