María Margarita Carmenate Moreno

Obesidad y circunferencia de la cintura en adolescentes madrileños

El incremento de la obesidad infantil es marcado y preve un futuro de trastornos relacionados, en la edad adulta de estos ninos. El objetivo de este estudio es determinar la prevalencia de sobrepeso, obesidad y el exceso de grasa abdominal, en un grupo de adolescentes madrilenos a partir de la valoracion del Indice de Masa Corporal, la grasa corporal total y la circunferencia de la cintura. Se estudiaron 407 ninos (183 ninas, 224 ninos), entre 13 y 17 anos de edad, alumnos de centros educativos de la Comunidad de Madrid durante el ano 2005. Se realizo la evaluacion antropometrica a traves del peso, la estatura, la circunferencia de la cintura y los pliegues cutaneos de grasa. De acuerdo al Indice de Masa Corporal se observo que el 18,2 % de los ninos y el 24,1 % de las ninas se clasificaron en las categorias de sobrepeso y obesidad. La circunferencia de la cintura aumento de forma significativa con la edad en el sexo masculino, en ambos sexos cifras altas de este indicador aparecieron acompanadas de sobrepeso y obesidad, tendencia mas marcada en el sexo femenino; entre las adolescentes los valores de los indicadores de adiposidad llegaron en algunas edades a superar los valores considerados de riesgo para la poblacion adulta. La deteccion precoz de estos problemas constituye un elemento importante para la prevencion de la morbilidad y la mortalidad de la poblacion adulta.

Association between meal intake behavior and blood pressure in Spanish adults

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Eating frequency has been suggested to modify blood pressure. Yet, the results are inconclusive, possibly because eating frequency, particularly meal intake behavior (MIB), does not differentiate between meals and snacks. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine the association between more specific MIBs, like the consumption of the three main meals, the intake of forenoon and afternoon meals and snacking between the regular meals, and systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP). METHODS This cross-sectional study includes 1,314 Spanish adults aged 20-79 years. Data collection occurred during cardiovascular health day events organized in four Spanish cities (Madrid, Las Palmas, Seville and Valencia) in 2008. Linear regression analysis was performed to assess the independent association between the mentioned MIBs and SBP/DBP, controlling for several confounders in multiples models. RESULTS After adjusting for sex, age and individual risk factors, having an afternoon meal was associated with lower SBP (ß -3.91, 95% CI [-6.33, -1.49]) and DBP (ß -2.35, 95% CI [-3.76, -0.94]). This association was attenuated when introducing dietary intake and waist circumference in the predictive models (SBP: ß -2.83, 95% CI [-5.25, -0.40]; DBP: ß -1.67, 95% CI [-3.04, -0.31]), although it still remained significant. None of the other investigated MIBs showed any associations with SBP/DBP. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that SBP/DBP might be reduced by the intake of an afternoon meal. However, population-based prospective studies are needed in order to confirm the consequences of the investigated associations on health.