Antropometria como ferramenta de avaliação do estado nutricional coletivo de adolescentes

Abstract

Anthropometry is considered the most appropriate tool for assessing the nutritional status of groups of people. The nutritional assessment of adolescents has a very peculiar dynamic because adolescence is a period of intense physiological and psychosocial changes which are directly related to the nutritional dynamic of this group. The monitoring of this dynamic and its intervening and interactive variables is an extremely relevant discussion theme. This review aims to present the applications of anthropometric indicators in the assessment of the nutritional status of adolescents. While ways to determine body composition are not readily available for epidemiological studies, the use of body mass index alone or associated with skin fold thicknesses and circumferences of body segments is convenient. Despite the difficulties and limitations, it seems essential to incorporate information on sexual maturation in the nutritional status assessment of adolescents. Furthermore, investigations need to pay closer attention to the parameters of definition for the population that will be assessed, so that studies can be compared properly.