Sports Practices and Cardiovascular Risk in Teenagers

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of deaths in the world, and many events could be prevented by healthy life habits. OBJECTIVES: To compare the occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents enrolled at public schools in the city of Rio de Janeiro, including a renowned school for sport practices. METHODS: Cross-sectional study, convenience sampling of 422 students enrolled at the Experimental Olympic Gymnasium (EOG) and at Figueiredo Pimentel School (FP). Using descriptive analyses, continuous variables were expressed as mean and standard deviation or median and interquartile ranges, and the Student's t-test or the chi-square test, respectively, was used for comparisons. The sports were classified according to the metabolic equivalent of task (MET) (below or above 5). RESULTS: We included 274 students enrolled at the EOG and 148 at FP. Mean age was similar between schools -12.5 ± 1.6 years at FP and 12.6 ± 0.9 at the EOG; 65.5% of the students at FP and 43.8% of the students at the EOG were female (p < 0.01). Significant differences in the prevalence of hypertension (20% vs. 6.3%, p < 0.01) and borderline cholesterol levels (27.7% vs. 17.3%, p = 0.01) were found between FP and EOG students, respectively. CONCLUSION: High prevalence of hypertension, overweight/obesity and altered blood lipid profile was found in this group of adolescents. Regular sports training program combined with little influence of their eating habits outside school may contribute to a better metabolic profile and reduction in cardiovascular risk factors in students. Public health measures are also need.