Comportamento alimentar, qualidade de vida e risco cardiovascular em crianças e adolescentes com obesidade e sobrepeso

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Eating habits are closely relate to the development of chronic diseases throughout life, such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, among others. Adequate eating education and behavior contribute to good health and quality of life. Epidemiological studies show the increased occurrence of arterial hypertension during childhood and adolescence, probably due to the association of being overweight, obesity and lack of physical activity. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the relationships between eating behaviors and their impact in body composition of children and teenagers, as well as possible association with quality of life (QoL) and early indicators of cardiovascular risk. METHODS: This is a transversal and observational that study which evaluated anthropometric, cardiovascular, QoL, and eating behavior parameters of 181 healthy children and teenagers, of both genders, and between the ages of 5 to 13, who are enrolled in the public education system in Belo Horizonte city, Minas Gerais, Brazil. They were fitted in three groups regarding body composition: Normal Weight, Overweight, and Obese. To determine these groups, the z-score for age-based body mass index (IMC/I) was used, and the children were classified according to the cutoff scores proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Anthropometry included weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, waist-hip ratio, and waist-height ratio. QoL was assessed using the Peds-QL 4.0 questionnaire, and eating behavior was assessed using the Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ). Cardiovascular parameters were assessed using the Mobil-O-Graph® device, which measures the pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx@75) to estimate arterial stiffness (AS), which is considered an early marker of cardiovascular disease. RESULTS: In addition to the increase in anthropometric measurements (p < 0.001), the Obesity group exhibited behaviour related to food intake (p < 0.05). When analyzing QoL, a worsening in the social domain was also observed in the Obesity group (p < 0.05). However, PWV and AIx@75 did not differ between groups. CONCLUSION: Eating behaviour is related to the development of childhood obesity. However, early markers of cardiovascular risk related to AS did not change as a function of body composition in the children evaluated.