OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between early sexual maturation and obesity among students aged 10-14 years from the city of Florianopolis. METHODS: A total of 629 students (277 males and 352 females) aged 10-14 years were included in the study. The sample was obtained from two private schools and two public schools in the city of Florianopolis. The body mass index (BMI) was used for determining overweight and obesity. The values of weight, height, and BMI Z score according to gender and age were determined. The LMS method was utilized to determine Z score values. Sexual maturation was evaluated by Tanner stages for both males and females. Subjects were grouped using age-adjusted tertiles for each Tanner stage and gender. Subjects in the first tertile were considered early maturing, while subjects in the second tertile were considered the reference group. RESULTS: Early maturing girls were heavier (²=-0.21, p<0.05), taller (²=-0.15, p<0.05) and had higher BMI values for age (²=-0.3, p<0.05) than girls of other groups. Early maturing boys were taller for age (²=-0.21, p<0.05) than boys of other groups. The prevalence of overweight including obesity of early maturing girls was higher than for the reference group (p=0.01). No association was found between overweight, including obesity, and early sexual maturation among boys (p=0.648). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are similar to other studies that declare that early maturing girls present a higher prevalence of obesity than non-early maturing girls. The present study did not show any association for boys regarding early sexual maturation and obesity.
Obesity; Sexual Maturation; Students; Adolescents
