Obesidade nos Adolescentes: estudo da prevalência da obesidade e de factores associados em estudantes do ensino secundário de duas escolas de Coimbra.

Obesity is a growing concern world wide, due to the progressive raise of overweight individuals, particularly adolescents, and due to its health consequences. A descriptive correlational study was conducted with the aim of determining the prevalence of obesity among high school students and its relation with some factors. A non probability sample is constituted by 197 students drawn from two high schools of the district of Coimbra. The results showed, according to the classification of obesity recommended by the Direcção Geral de Saúde (2005) a prevalence of obese individuals of 3,55% and 10,15% of overweight students. The influence of age, sex and physical activity on the percentage of the students' fat mass was statistically confirmed. There was a statistically significant relation between the BMI of the students and their respective parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]