[Physical, clinical, and psychosocial parameters of adolescents with different degrees of excess weight]

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:: To compare body composition, hemodynamic parameters, health-related physical fitness, and health-related quality of life of adolescents with anthropometric diagnosis of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity.

METHODS:: 220 adolescents with excess body weight were enrolled. They were beginners in a intervention program that included patients based on age, availability, presence of excess body weight, place of residence, and agreement to participate in the study

.: This study collected anthropometric and hemodynamic variables, health-related physical fitness, and health-related quality of life of the adolescents. To compare the three groups according to nutritional status, parametric and non-parametric tests were applied. Significance level was set at p<0.05.

RESULTS:: There was no significant difference in resting heart rate, health-related physical fitness, relative body fat, absolute and relative lean mass, and health-related quality of life between overweight, obese, and severely obese adolescents (p>0.05). Body weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumference, and systolic blood pressure increased as degree of excess weightincreased (p<0.05). Dyastolic blood pressure of the severe obesity group was higher than the other groups (p<0.05). There was an association between the degree of excess weight and the prevalence of altered blood pressure (overweight: 12.1%; obesity: 28.1%; severe obesity: 45.5%; p<0.001). The results were similar when genders were analyzed separately.

CONCLUSION:: Results suggest that overweight adolescents presented similar results compared to obese and severely obese adolescents in most of the parameters analyzed.

Keywords: Adolescent health; Atividade motora; Motor activity; Obesidade; Obesity; Overweight; Qualidade de vida; Quality of life; Saúde do adolescente; Sobrepeso.