Estilo de vida y el peso corporal en una comunidad portuguesa en transición: un estudio de la relación entre la actividad física, los hábitos alimentarios y el índice de masa corporal

A study was designed with the aim of characterizing life style and the relation between eating habits and physical activity in children and adolescents in a geographical area of Portugal going through a transition from a rural to a more urban system. It was also analyzed the association between those variables and the body mass index (BMI). A total of 176 children and adolescents, ages ranging from 9 to 15 (6% of the target population), answered to a Portuguese adaptation of the Health and Behavior Survey. Moreover, their weight and height were also measured. Results showed that around 30% of the sample did not have a healthy pattern of physical activity and a large percentage also did not present a healthy pattern of eating habits. Regarding BMI, it was found that 15% children and adolescents were overweight and 18% with obesity problems. Taking into account the last results about Portuguese reality, the number of people with weight problems in this sample is alarming. Furthermore, it is notorious that these problems are not only typical of typical urban areas.