OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of stunting on nutrition disorders in low-income preadolescents and adolescents. METHODS: Body mass index was calculated from the weight and height of 4 to 8th grade students from public schools. The tables from the National Center for Health Statistics of 2000 for children and adolescents were used as reference guides. Individuals were considered overweight when Body Mass Index-for-age >P85 and underweight when Body Mass Index-for-age <P5. Individuals were considered stunted when height-for-age was below one standard deviation. Overweight and underweight rates were compared between the non-stunted and stunted groups according to gender and age. RESULTS: A total of 3766 individuals were studied, 50.4% being females. Mean age was 12.8 years, with a standard deviation of 2.0 years and no significant difference between the groups. In the stunted group, overweight was more common among the older children. In the non-stunted group, the distribution by age was similar for all three Body Mass Index-for-age classifications. Distribution by gender shows that overweight in the stunted group prevailed among females (76.1%) while in the non-stunted group the difference was minimal between the genders (4.4%). CONCLUSION: In the stunted group, overweight was more common among those older than 12 years and among females. Non-stunted boys were overweight more often than stunted boys.
Adolescent; Body height; Deficiency diseases
