The aim of this study was to determine the abdominal obesity prevalence and its association with socio-demographic indicators, nutritional status and sexual maturity in female students aged 8 to 17 years. This is a cross-sectional study with 2,595 female students from public and private schools of the city of Cascavel, Paraná State, Brazil. Socio-demographic, anthropometric and sexual maturity data were collected. Data analysis was carried out by a chi-square test and binary logistic regression. The obesity prevalence was 8.2%. High-school students were less likely to have abdominal obesity when compared with girls at basic education (OR = 0.36, 95%CI=0.15-0.85) and those with overweight were more likely to have the outcome (OR = 181.36, 95%CI=84.43-389.58). Educational interventions aimed at preventing and reducing abdominal obesity should be implemented, especially among overweight schoolchildren.
Anthropometry; Body composition; Social Class
