FRECUENCIA DE OBESIDAD Y SOBREPESO EN ESCOLARES De LA ZONA URBANA DE Mérida-Venezuela.

Objective. To assess the frequency of weight problems in school-children from educational centers of Merida-Venezuela. Methods. An observational and transversal study was performed. Three hundred forty nine school-children, 6 to 12 years old, 160 boys and 189 girls, were studied. They belong to three educational centers from Merida; 127 children from the school A (Los Curos), 111 from the school B (Bicentenario), and 111 from the school C (10 de Diciembre). The weight and stature were measured in all children. Body mass index-for age (BMI/A) and stature-for age (S/A) were established: obese (BMI ≥ 97 th percentile), overweight (BMI 90 th ), normal weight (BMI ≤ 90 th and ≥10 th ), and low weight (BMI< 10 th ). The nutritional evaluation was done by the combination of 2 indexes: BMI-for age (BMI/A) and stature-for age (S/A). Results. BMI-for age abnormal values were obtained in 35% of the 349 school-children; overweight was diagnosed in 11% of them, 14% were obese and low weight was found in 10% of the sample. There was a significative difference in the BMI/A related to the sex: alterations were observed in the 26% of girls and 42% of boys (p<0,01). The difference was attributed to a higher frequency of obesity and overweight in boys. The overall frequency of alterations in the S/A index was 26.4%, and it was more frequent in boys than in girls. The school-children with obesity and overweight showed a higher frequency of high stature compared to normal weight subjects (p<0,05). According to the nutrition evaluation, 8.8% of these school-children showed low weight and height. Conclusion. Our results reveal a substantial increase in frequency of obesity and overweight in children from educational centers in Merida city-Venezuela. The potential consequences in terms of morbidity and mortality, should be taking in consideration in order to develop secure and preventive strategies. Individuals at risk should be identified. Promoting regular physical activities in childhood and improving the quality of nutrition, are priorities to overcome these problems.