Faculty of Nutrition, Federal University of Alagoas, Campus A.C. Simões, BR 104 Norte - Km 96.7 - Tabuleiro do Martins, CEP, Maceió, AL, 57072-970, Brazil.
Post-graduate Program in Nutrition, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, AL, Brazil.
BMC Public Health. 2020 May 20;20(1):736. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-08869-1.
A study involving children from Alagoas (Northeast Brazil) revealed that, as a consequence of a drastic reduction in the prevalence of stunting between 1992 to 2005, (22.5 to 11.4%) combined with an increase in overweight prevalence (6.7 to 9.3%), the prevalence of these two conditions in 2005 was very close. If these trends were maintained, it is very likely that, at this time, the childhood overweight prevalence has already exceeded that of the stunting. However, no study is available to confirm this hypothesis. The identification of these changes is relevant to the planning and evaluation of public policies. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, time trends and associated factors with stunting and overweight in children from Alagoas.
Independent cross-sectional household surveys were conducted in 1992 (n = 1231), 2005 (n = 1381) and 2015 (n = 988). Data were collected from probabilistic samples of children aged 0-60 months. Stunting was defined by stature-for-age < - 2 sd and overweight by weight-for-stature > 2 sd.
Between 1992, 2005 and 2015, the stunting prevalence was 22.6, 11.2 and 3.2% (reduction of 85.8%), while the overweight prevalence was 6.9, 7.5 and 14.9% (increase of 115.9%), respectively. After multivariate analysis, the following positive associations with stunting were observed in 1992: age group > 24 months (28.3% vs 14.5%), mother with ≥2 children (28.8% vs 12.8%), low birth weight (28.3% vs 15.7%) and mother with low schooling (29.3% vs 7.2%). In 2015 there was a higher prevalence of stunting in males (4.2% vs 2.2%), in children < 24 months (4.6% vs 2.2%), with low birth weight (8.6% vs 3.0%) and in those who had mothers with low schooling (7.0% vs 2.6%). Regarding overweight, in 1992 there was higher prevalence for male (9.1% vs 4.7%) and in children whose mothers had ≤2 children (8.9% vs 5.8%), while in 2015 only birth weight > 4 kg was associated to overweight (27.3% vs 14.2%).
During the analyzed period, there was a significant decrease in stunting prevalence. At the same time, a substantial increase was observed in the overweight prevalence. Currently, stunting is a problem of low magnitude, while overweight has become a worrying public health problem.
一项涉及巴伊亚州（巴西东北部）儿童的研究表明，由于 1992 年至 2005 年间生长迟缓的患病率急剧下降（从 22.5%降至 11.4%），同时超重的患病率上升（从 6.7%升至 9.3%），2005 年这两种情况的患病率非常接近。如果这些趋势持续下去，那么很可能此时儿童超重的患病率已经超过了生长迟缓的患病率。然而，目前尚无研究证实这一假设。识别这些变化对于公共政策的规划和评估具有重要意义。本研究旨在调查巴伊亚州儿童生长迟缓与超重的患病率、时间趋势及其相关因素。
1992 年（n=1231）、2005 年（n=1381）和 2015 年（n=988）分别进行了独立的横断面家庭调查。数据来自 0-60 个月儿童的概率抽样。生长迟缓定义为身高年龄<-2sd，超重定义为体重身高>2sd。
1992 年、2005 年和 2015 年，生长迟缓的患病率分别为 22.6%、11.2%和 3.2%（下降 85.8%），超重的患病率分别为 6.9%、7.5%和 14.9%（上升 115.9%）。多变量分析后，1992 年观察到与生长迟缓相关的以下正相关因素：年龄组>24 个月（28.3%比 14.5%）、母亲有≥2 个孩子（28.8%比 12.8%）、低出生体重（28.3%比 15.7%）和母亲文化程度低（29.3%比 7.2%）。2015 年，男性（4.2%比 2.2%）、<24 个月（4.6%比 2.2%）、低出生体重（8.6%比 3.0%）和母亲文化程度低（7.0%比 2.6%）的儿童生长迟缓患病率较高。超重方面，1992 年男性（9.1%比 4.7%）和母亲生育子女数≤2 个的儿童（8.9%比 5.8%）的患病率较高，而 2015 年只有出生体重>4kg 与超重相关（27.3%比 14.2%）。
在分析期间，生长迟缓的患病率显著下降。与此同时，超重的患病率大幅上升。目前，生长迟缓是一个低程度的问题，而超重已成为一个令人担忧的公共卫生问题。
