Incidência de excesso de peso e fatores associados, durante o primeiro ano de vida das crianças participantes da coorte “SAND”

Abstract

Based on the high prevalence of childhood overweight seen in recent years, especially among children under five, this master's thesis discusses this scenario as a worldwide public health problem, during the course of its literature review chapter, and brings a regional perspective from an original scientific article. The literature review chapter addresses the food and nutrition transition and the epidemiology of global children's overweight, pointing to the Brazilian context and, particularly, to socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. It also incorporates the main factors listed in the literature that favor its development and are present in the first thousand days and, finally, addressing the main public policies aimed at tackling childhood obesity. In the scientific article, the incidence and risk factors for overweight were analyzed during the first year of life of a low-income population, this being the first article in the national literature to investigate overweight within this scope and one of the few in international literature. The results found indicate that the insufficient practice of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and the home food environment that the child is inserted in, acted as determinants of the overweight incidence rate. As final considerations, actions to tackle childhood obesity should promote, support and protect EBF, as well as the importance of maintaining a healthy home food environment that can provide adequate conditions for child growth, development and nutrition, from conception.