[Factors associated with excess weight in Brazilian children under five years of age].

The scope of the study was to identify factors associated with excess weight in Brazilian children less than five years of age. Data from a cross-sectional home-based study entitled the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) of 2006 were used. The diagnosis of excess weight was performed using the weight-for-height greater than 2 z scores above the median anthropometric standard recommended by the World Health Organization in 2006.

[Body dissatisfaction among adolescents: a population-based study].

The scope of this study was to evaluate body dissatisfaction among adolescents, and to explore differences according to sex, socioeconomic status and body mass index. 4325 individuals aged 14-15 years old from Pelotas, Brazil, were studied. Body dissatisfaction was evaluated comparing the desired image with the perceived image, according to the Tiggemann & Wilson-Barret silhouette scale.

[Urban work profile among adolescents aged 14-15 years: a population-based study in Southern Brazil].

The scope of this article was to describe the urban work patterns among 14 to 15-year-old youths from Southern Brazil. Child labor was characterized as any activity that resulted in retribution in the form of goods, services or money. The analyses were stratified by sex and economic level.

Tracking of dietary patterns from childhood to adolescence.

Objective: To review the scientific literature on the tracking of dietary patterns from childhood to adolescence.

Methods: A search of the MEDLINE/PubMed, Lilacs and SciELO databases was performed, using the following key words: "tracking", "dietary patterns" and "childhood/adolescence" and their respective synonyms. A total of 45 abstracts were found and, after the inclusion criteria were applied, 13 articles were included.

Infant feeding and obesity at 11 years: prospective birth cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate the association between breastfeeding duration, introduction of solid or semi-solid foods before four months of age and overweight/obesity at 11 years.

Methods: Prospective population-based birth cohort study, including 1 204 adolescents aged 11 years who were born in Pelotas (Brazil), in 1993, and were previously interviewed at birth, six and 12 months of age. Five explanatory variables were used: duration of any breastfeeding, duration of exclusive or predominant breastfeeding, ever breastfeeding, introduction of solid or semi-solid foods before four months of age, and feeding pattern at four months of age.

Prevalence of insufficient physical activity and associated factors in Brazilian adolescents.

Background: We aimed to describe levels of physical activity (PA) in adolescents living in southern Brazil and to explore associations between PA levels and demographic, socioeconomic, health-related, and parental variables. A further aim was to test the validity and reliability of the questionnaire used.

Methods: We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study including 857 adolescents selected randomly.

[Nutritional status of first to fourth-grade students of urban schools in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil].

This cross-sectional study included 20,084 students from urban schools (first to fourth-grade) in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Weight and height were measured, and nutritional status was classified according to the World Health Organization (height deficit) and International Obesity Task Force (overweight and obesity) criteria. The study also recorded the variables age, gender, type of school, and schooling (grade-for-age adequacy).

Diagnosis of overweight and obesity in adolescents from the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort Study, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil: comparison of two diagnostic criteria.

Various cut-off points for body mass index have been proposed to assess nutritional status in adolescents. The aim of this study was to compare two methods for evaluating overweight and obesity. In 2004-5, 4,452 adolescents from the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study were evaluated, representing 87.

Gender differences in leisure-time physical activity.

Objectives: To explore the association between gender and leisure-time physical activity in a population-based sample of adults living in Brazil. To study a variety of variables possibly associated with physical activity levels.

Methods: A multistage sampling of households was undertaken in Pelotas, a medium-sized Southern Brazilian city.

[Frequency of high-fat and low-fiber diets among adolescents].

Objective: To describe the frequency and associated factors of high-fat and low-fiber diets among adolescents.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in adolescents aged 10-12 years in Pelotas, southern Brazil, in 2004 and 2005. Dietary patterns in the previous 12 months were evaluated using the Block questionnaire comprising 24 food items scored according to the frequency of consumption of high-fat and low-fiber food.

Methodological aspects of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort Study.

This paper describes the main methodological aspects of a cohort study, with emphasis on its recent phases, which may be relevant to investigators planning to carry out similar studies. In 1993, a population based study was launched in Pelotas, Southern Brazil. All 5,249 newborns delivered in the city's hospitals were enrolled, and sub-samples were visited at the ages of one, three and six months and of one and four years.

[Knowledge and perceptions of physical exercise in an adult urban population in Southern Brazil].

This study evaluates perception and knowledge of physical exercise in an urban adult population and relates knowledge level to behavioral, demographic, and socioeconomic factors, using a cross-sectional, population-based approach with 3,182 participants aged 20 or older. The questionnaire originated a score (range 0-25 points). Mean score for the sample was 17.

[Trends in the nutritional profile of children born in 1993 in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: longitudinal analyses].

Trends in nutritional status were studied in children born in 1993 in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. During that year, all infants born in the city were identified, and a sub-sample of 1,273 children was visited twice at home for anthropometric examinations at an average age of 12 and 54 months, respectively. Approximately 10% of all children were lost to follow up from birth to 4 years.