Resumo

CALIMAN, Salvador Bianka; CASTRO FRANCESCHINI, Sylvia do Carmo  e  PRIORE, Silvia Eloiza. Secular trends in growth male adolescents: height and ponderal gains, nutritional state and relation with the education.. ALAN [online]. 2006, vol.56, n.4, pp.321-328. ISSN 0004-0622.

This work aimed at characterizing the modifications in adolescentsnutritional status, growth evolution and education along time and the correlation with the height, weight and body mass index. Data came from 2616 male adolescents soldiers between 17 and 19 years old enlisted for Armed Services in the city of Viçosa-Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 1995 and 2004. There was a positive secular trend for height and weight, with a 4cm and 3kg median increment, respectively, along time. There was a reduction from 28.0% to 11.6% on the prevalence of short stature in the period. It was estimated positive correlation (p<0,05) between education and stature, weight and BMI. The prevalence of weight excess (risk of overweight and overweight) increased from 7.1% (1995) to 9.1% (2004). Although it was observed positive secular trend for stature and weight, it was not sufficient to reach the median of the National Center for Health Statistics/Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Weight excess and short stature prevalence must be monitored, being necessary the implementation of measures that focus to prevent these disturbance and aim at reaching or maintaining an adequate nutritional state for future generations.

Palavras-chave : Adolescents; height; growth; nutritional status.