Spatial data analysis and the use of maps in scientific health articles.

Introduction: Despite the growing number of studies with a characteristic element of spatial analysis, the application of the techniques is not always clear and its continuity in epidemiological studies requires careful evaluation.

Objective: To verify the spread and use of those processes in national and international scientific papers.

Method: An assessment was made of periodicals according to the impact index.

Age at menarche in schoolgirls with and without excess weight.

Objective: To evaluate the age at menarche of girls, with or without weight excess, attending private and public schools in a city in Southeastern Brazil.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study comparing the age at menarche of 750 girls from private schools with 921 students from public schools, aged between 7 and 18 years. The menarche was reported by the status quo method and age at menarche was estimated by logarithmic transformation.

Prevalence of weight excess according to age group in students from Campinas, SP, Brazil.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of weight excess in children and adolescents attending public and private schools of Campinas, Southeast Brazil, according to age group.

Methods: Cross-sectional study that enrolled 3,130 students from 2010 to 2012. The weight and the height were measured and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated.

[The importance of memory bias in obtaining age of menarche by recall method in Brazilian adolescents].

Objective: To compare the age at menarche obtained by recall method according to the time elapsed since the event, in order to verify the importance of the recall bias.

Subjects And Methods: Were evaluated 1,671 girls (7-18 years) at schools in Campinas-SP regarding the occurrence of menarche by the status quo method (menarche: yes or no) and the recall method (date of menarche, for those who mentioned it). The age at menarche obtained by the status quo method was calculated by logit, which considers the whole group, and the age obtained by the recall method was calculated as the average of the mentioned age at menarche.

Trends of body composition among adolescents according to maturation stage and body mass index.

Background: Excessive increases in percentage body fat (%BF) according to sex may pose greater risks of chronic diseases.

Objective: To evaluate trends of body composition according to sexual maturation stage and body mass index (BMI) of adolescents.

Method: Data about weight, height, lean mass, fat mass, %BF, BMI and sexual maturation of 1345 private school students (685 girls) aged from 7 to 18 years were collected in 2001 and compared with data of 1450 students (750 girls) collected in 2010 in Campinas, Brazil.

[Secular trends in age at menarche in relation to body mass index].

Objective: To evaluate the secular trend of menarche according to body mass index (BMI).

Subjects And Methods: Six hundred and eighty five girls (7-18 years) assessed in 2001 were compared with 750 evaluated in 2010. They were grouped by BMI Z-score: (thin + normal) and (overweight + obese).

[Historical evolution of utensils used to feed non breastfed infants].

The objective of this article is to describe the utensils used throughout history to feed non breastfed infants. The method used was article review, reference search on the MEDLINE, LILACS and SciELO databases from 1966 to 2007 and documental analysis based on data from the internet, encyclopedias, art and history books, and museums. Utensils manufactured in a variety of materials and shapes, depending on availability, purchasing power and culture have been used since early history to feed babies who for different reasons were not breastfed.

The history of infant nutrition.

Objective: To retrace the history of infant nutrition with the objective of better understanding breastfeeding.

Sources Of Data: Bibliographic searches were run on MEDLINE, LILACS, SciELO, and the Internet. Encyclopedias, scientific textbooks and books for the general public, in addition to literature, art and history, were also used.

Pacifier habit: history and multidisciplinary view.

Objectives: To review the history of pacifiers and to compile a multidisciplinary literature review, searching for pros and cons with the purpose of providing health professionals with arguments when parents request guidance.

Sources: History and art books, as well as non-medical literature and museums were used in the historical survey. Multidisciplinary data were collected from MEDLINE, LILACS, SciELO, and The Cochrane Library.

Body mass index and body composition in relation to sexual maturation.

Aim: To assess body mass index. (BMI) in relation to sexual maturation and verify how fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) contribute to its increase.

Methods: 1,275 White adolescents (656 girls and 619 boys), aged 9 to 18 years, were evaluated according to Tanner stages.

[Post-menarcheal growth in a cohort of Brazilian girls].

The purpose of this paper was to assess post-menarcheal growth in a cohort of Brazilian girls and correlate it with the age, stature and BMI at menarche. Records of the age, weight, and stature at menarche, and 5 years later, of 111 girls who attended the Adolescent Unit of the Child Institute-HC-Medical School of the University of São Paulo, were recovered. The median age at menarche was 12.