The body mass index as an indicator of overweight and obesity in schoolchildrenb

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the body mass index (BMI), as an indicator of overweight and obesity in elementary school students from a municipal school in São Miguel do Oeste/SC. Twenty-seven children and pre-adolescents, aged 8 to 12 years, 13 of the male gender and 14 of the female gender participated in the study. Data collection was performed through the verification of weight and height measures of the participants to calculate the BMI of the respondents. Afterwards, the data were tabulated and analyzed and the results were returned to the subjects, in an individualized manner. Frequency analysis was used to treat the data. According to the results, both male and female schoolchildren were classified as having the ideal weight (06 boys and 07 girls), followed by the classification of overweight (05 boys and 04 girls) and obesity (02 boys and 03 girls). It is concluded that, regardless of gender, schoolchildren were classified as having ideal weight, according to BMI classification parameters. As there were cases (to a lesser extent) of overweight and obesity, there were guidelines about healthy eating and physical activity / exercise.