Overweight or obesity and abdominal obesity and their association with cardiometabolic risk factors in Brazilian schoolchildren: A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to access the association between overweight or obesity and abdominal obesity (AO) and cardiometabolic risk factors (CRF) of schoolchildren.

Methods: We evaluated body weight (BW), height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), fasting glycaemia (FG), blood pressure (BP), triacylglycerides (TGs), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in 501 students (6-10 y of age) from municipal schools in Macaé, Brazil. Statistical analyses were performed by χ2, Fisher exact tests, and odds ratio (OR; 95% confidence interval [CI]).

Results: Children with overweight or obesity had higher TG, TC, and BP values than normal weight children (P < 0.05). The same trend was observed in children with AO versus those without AO. Among the schoolchildren, 58.5% had at least one CRF. Overweight or obese children had increased risk for high BP (OR, 3.98; 95% CI, 2.4-6.57), high TGs (OR, 2.81; 95% CI, 1.64-4.8), high TC (OR, 2.47; 95% CI, 1.53-4), high LDL-C (OR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.09-8.6) and two or more CRFs (OR, 4.6; 95% CI, 2.89-7.3). Children with AO had increased risk for high BP (OR, 3.97; 95% CI, 2.18-7.22), high TGs (OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.79-6.49), high TC (OR, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.39-4.75), high LDL-C (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.24-11.07), and two or more CRFs (OR, 3.25; 95% CI, 1.82-5.78). Schoolchildren with CRFs presented higher means of BW, BMI, WC, FG, TGs, TC, LDL-C, SBP, DBP, and lower HDL-C than children without CRFs.

Conclusion: The relationship between increased body weight or AO and CRF, described in the present data, reinforces the importance of early prevention of excess weight in children.