Sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with body adiposity in adolescents

OBJECTIVE: To identify sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with abdominal obesity (AO) and high body fat percentage (high BF%) in adolescents from the city of Curitiba-PR. METHODS: The sample consisted of 1,732 adolescents, aged 11 to 19 years, of both genders. The triceps and calf skinfolds were measured for the calculation of BF%, as well as the waist circumference. A questionnaire was completed by adolescents with the following type of residence, socioeconomic status, time spent watching TV on weekdays and weekends, and daily energy expenditure. Logistic regression was used to measure the association of sociodemographic and behavioral variables with abdominal obesity and high BF%. RESULTS: Female were more likely to have high BF% (OR: 2.73; 95% CI: 2.32-3.33), but were less likely to have abdominal obesity (OR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.44-0.78). Older individuals (1619 have high BF% (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.02-1.83). The older age groups (13-15 years and 16-19 years) had an inverse association with abdominal obesity. Regarding daily energy expenditure, the less active individuals were more likely to present high BF% (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.07-1.71) and obesity (OR: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.09-1.80). CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase physical activity levels in young people should be designed in order to combat excess body fat should designed to combat excess adiposity.