OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and identify associated factors of surplus weight in adolescents. METHODS: a cross-sectional study design was employed. 426 adolescents, 10 to 18 years old, from the city of Salvador, northeast region of Brazil were selected in a three stage stratified random sampling scheme. Data on the frequency of food consumption and physical activity, sexual maturation, anthropometric measurements and covariates were collected. The nutritional status was classified with cutoff points based on body mass index mean values from Brazilian children and adolescents, while the secondary sexual characteristics were self-reported. The adolescents who performed more than 300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week were considered physically active. Ethnicity was classified by skin color and physical attributes. RESULTS: Total prevalence of surplus weight was of 14.3%. Early sexual maturation (Prevalence Rate - /PR/_adjusted =2.12, /CI95%/=1.10-4.05) and physical inactivity (/PR/_adjusted =1.85, /CI95%/=1.01-3.41), adjusted for age (PR/ adjusted =1.77, /CI0.97%/=3.24) were independently associated with surplus weight in adolescents from Salvador, Bahia. CONCLUSIONS: Surplus weight was high among adolescents in Salvador. Public prevention policies should be adopted in order to early prevent surplus weight through improved encouragement to continuous and systematic practice of physical activity at population level.
body mass index; surplus weight; physical activity; adolescence
