Individual and Socioeconomic Contextual Factors Associated with Obesity in Brazilian Adolescents: VigiNUTRI Brasil

Abstract

This study investigated the association of socioeconomic contextual factors of the municipality of residence of adolescents, their eating behavior and food consumption with the prevalence of obesity. This was a cross-sectional study, based on individual data regarding anthropometry, eating behavior (eating in front of screens and having at least three main meals a day), and markers of healthy and unhealthy eating of 23,509 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years, participating in the Food and Nutrition Surveillance of the Brazilian Population monitored in Primary Health Care (VigiNUTRI Brasil) assessment in 2018. Based on multilevel Poisson regression, a higher prevalence of obesity was observed among adolescents living in municipalities with per capita income above USD209.68 (PR = 1.22; 95% CI 1.05;1.42) and among those who consumed hamburgers and/or processed meats the previous day (PR = 1.09; 95% CI 1.01;1.17). Adolescents who had the habit of having three main meals a day (PR = 0.81; 95% CI 0.73;0.89 p < 0.05) and who consumed fresh fruit the previous day (PR = 0.91; 95% CI 0.84;0.98 p < 0.001) had lower prevalence of obesity. The results reinforce the influence of the social context and food consumption on obesity rates. The persistence of this situation implies a worsening in the current and future health of adolescents.