The influence of menopause in the Body Mass Index (BMI), among women aged 20-59, in Rio de Janeiro (municipality) has been investigated, based on data from the survey Nutrition and Health, carried out in 1996. It is a cross-sectional household study with information on health and nutrition, about a population of 1,506 women. The risk of overweight (IMC >25kg/m²) associated to menopause, in a logistic regression model adjusted for age, physical activity and smoking was 1.66 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.14-2.41. The results showed that education and income were associated with overweight only among women without menopause, and that the effect of smoking was greater among women in menopause. The study also displayed an association between menopause and overweight, which cannot be explained by age, physical activity or smoking. A maximum effect for women who presented overweight before menopause could explain these findings, but only longitudinal studies will make it possible to clarify this hypothesis.
Menopause; Obesity; Survey; BMI
