Prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity in children under five in Alagoas, Northeast of Brazil; a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence and associated factors with overweight and obesity among children under five in the Alagoas state, Northeast of Brazil. DESIGN Cross-sectional population-based study. The study was based on 1115 children with an average age of 24.7 months (SD ± 16.8), and 51.7% were female. Nutritional status was classified according to BMI / age. The z score > + 1 and ≤+2 z identified children with overweight and > + 2 z score identified those with obesity, according to the standard reference of World Health Organization. To identify the variables associated with overweight and obesity was performed Poisson regression analysis. RESULTS The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 23.9% and 7.8%, respectively, 33.8% for girls and 29.4% in boys. After adjustment, the per capita income equal to or greater than 2.5 times the minimum wage, age 6 to 23 months and mother overweight and obesity remained positively associated with overweight/obesity. On the other hand, it was observed negative association between low and insufficient birth weight with child overweight/ obesity. CONCLUSIONS The results show a similar prevalence of overweight and obesity to other studies in the country for children under five years, warning for possible impairment of adequate child growth and development .