OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of obesity according to gender and age in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus of a pediatric endocrinology follow-up clinic. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study enrolled patients of the follow-up clinic of the Pediatric Endocrinology Unit of Hospital de Base of São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. The following data were collected: gender, age, insulin dosage, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), weight, height and body mass index (BMI). The cutoff criteria for overweight and obesity were based on BMI-for-age growth charts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2000). RESULTS: 77 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus were included (44 females and 33 males), with three to 18 years old (mean: 13.4). The value of HbA1c varied from 4.1 to 10.6% (mean: 7.7%) and the BMI ranged from 15.1 to 28.6 kg/m² (average: 23.2). Based on BMI charts, 8% (three girls and three boys) were obese and 8% (two girls and four boys) had overweight. CONCLUSION: Compared to the prevalence of obesity and overweight in non-diabetic pediatric population, the presence of these nutritional disturbances in the studied children was not significantly different.
obesity; overweight; body mass index; diabetes mellitus, type 1