OBJECTIVE: To verify the prevalence of obesity, systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), waist circumference and acanthosis nigricans (AN) in school children from Sorocaba, in 2009 and associate them with risk factors. METHODS: A probabilistic sample study was carried out with 680 children (7-11 years) from 13 public schools from the city of Sorocaba, SP. A questionnaire containing questions on physical activity, time spent watching television, playing with videogames and computers (TV/VG/PC), student and parental antecedents of arterial hypertension, renal or cardiac disease, and economic level was applied. On physical examination, weight, height, waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure (BP) were measured; presence of AN was observed. The prevalence of nutritional disorders, SAH, WC increase and presence of AN were calculated. To associate body mass index (BMI) > P85 and BP > P90 with the other variables, chi square or Fisher's exact test (significance p < 0.05) and crude and adjusted prevalence odds ratio (POR) were used. RESULTS: The prevalence of BMI > P85 was 22.1% [95% CI: 19.0-25.3%], of BP > P90 10.9% [95% CI: 8.6- 13.5%], increased WC 15.4% [95% CI: 12.9-17.9%] and AN 3.8% [95% CI: 2.6-5.6%]. Paternal antecedents were associated with weight excess in both analysis (POR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.05-2.95; p = 0.02). High blood pressure was associated with female sex (POR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.12-3.23; p = 0.01), more time spent with TV/VG/PC (POR: 1.82; 95% CI: 1.00-3.36; p = 0.03), AN (POR: 8.18; 95% CI: 3.37-19.80; p < 0.00), obesity (POR: 4.09; 95% CI: 2.41-6.94; p < 0.00) and WC (POR: 4.83; 95% CI: 2.77-8.41; p < 0.00). After the multivariate analysis, the female sex (adjusted POR = 2.15; 95% CI: 1.17-3.93) and obesity (adjusted POR = 9.51; 95% CI: 4.77-18.97) remained. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of weight excess, SAH, increased WC and AN in these school children was relevant. This fact justifies the use of these measurements.
Obesity; hypertension; waist circumference; acanthosis nigricans
