Association of obesity with chronic disease and musculoskeletal factors

Abstract

Introduction: overweight and obesity in adolescents are major public health problems with particular interest, because of their potential association with risk factors for development of diseases. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescents in southern Portugal and investigate the association with risk factors for development of cardiovascular, respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases. Methods: the sample consisted of 966 adolescents aged 10 to 16 years. The calculation of body mass index (BMI), evaluation of blood glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides, blood pressure, spirometry and application of low back pain (LBP) questionnaire were performed. Results: 178 (18.4%) adolescents were overweight and 52 (5.4%) obese. None of the variables revealed a statistically significant association with overweight and obesity. The presence of high blood pressure was observed in 200 (20.7%) individuals and hypertension in 158 (16.4%) adolescents. Overweight and obese adolescents are 2.3 times more likely to develop signs of pre-hypertension and hypertension. 559 (57.9%) students had restrictive respiratory disorders and 23 (2.4%) had obstructive disorders. Those who were overweight and obese had 0.64 probability of having restrictive respiratory disorders. Conclusions: there was a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Portuguese adolescents and these showed a statistically significant relationship with the development of pre-hypertension and hypertension, and restrictive respiratory disorders.