Prevalencia de sobrepeso en adolescentes de 10 a 14 años de edad, en el servicio de pediatría del Hospital José Carrasco Arteaga y su relación con factores asociados. Cuenca 2014- 2015

Abstract

Overweight, an increasing nutritional disorder in teenagers, is currently a major concern for health systems. This is a cross-sectional study in 10-14 teenagers at the Pediatric Ward of the José Carrasco Arteaga Hospital; the information collected by means of previously made questionnaires features body mass index, socioeconomic status, residence, breastfeeding, family functioning, eating habits, and physical activity. The information was processed in SPSS in order to obtain frequency, percentage, relative risk, logistic regression, and odds ratio. According to sociodemographic characteristics, the study was conducted with 238 patients: were female 51.3%; the average age was 12; urban residence was 66.8%; highly functional families were 96.2%; and breastfeeding was 68.1%. The prevalence of overweight was 13.4%. In relation to associated factors, eating habits are the ones directly related to overweight: statistical significance (p: 0.0009), which increases when high socioeconomic status is added, as well as when the head of family has higher education (p: 0.0001) and family members attend private schools (p = 0.0174). In regard to eating habits, not consuming fruit or milk, skipping breakfast, and eating fast food represents between 2.5 and 5.5 times the risk of developing overweight in teenagers. As a recommendation, since eating habits are the main factor associated with overweight, long-term educational programs designed to change such habits should be implemented