Combined effect of short stature and socioeconomic status on body mass index and weight gain during reproductive age in Brazilian women

Short stature, a marker for undernutrition early in life, has been associated with obesity in Brazilian women, but not in men. We tested the hypothesis that weight gain during the reproductive years could explain this gender difference. A national two-stage household survey of mothers with one or more children under five years of age was conducted in Brazil in 1996. The subjects were women aged 20 to 45 years (N = 2297), with last delivery seven months or more prior to the interview. The regions of the country were divided into rural, North/Northeast (urban underdeveloped) and South/Southeast/Midwest (urban developed). The dependent variables were current body mass index (BMI) measured, BMI prior to childbearing (reported), and BMI change. Socioeconomic variables included mother's years of education and family purchasing power score. A secondary analysis was restricted to primiparous women. The prevalence of current overweight and overweight prior to childbearing (BMI > or = 25 kg/m²) was higher among shorter women (<1.50 m) compared to normal stature women only in the urban developed region (P < 0.05). After adjustment for socioeconomic variables, age, parity, BMI prior to childbearing, and age at first birth, current BMI was 2.39 units higher (P = 0.008) for short stature women living in the urban developed area compared with short stature women living in the urban underdeveloped area. For both multiparous and primiparous women, BMI gain compared to the value prior to childbearing was significantly higher among short stature women living in the urban developed region (P <= 0.04). These results provide clear evidence that short stature was associated with a higher BMI and with an increased risk of weight gain/retention with pregnancy in the developed areas of Brazil, but not in the underdeveloped ones

Estudo de fatores associados ao desmame precoce em criancas atendidas no Centro de Saude de Varzea Paulista. / Factors associated with precocious weaning in children assisted in the Centro de Saude de Varzea Paulista

Foram entrevistadas 492 maes, com filhos na faixa etaria de um mes a dois anos, atendidas no Centro de Saude de Varzea Paulista no periodo de 9 de dezembro de 1981 a 15 de janeiro de 1982, quando foram tomadas medidas de peso e altura da mae e da crianca. Concluiu-se que aos dois meses e meio de vida 50% das criancas ja haviam sido desmamadas, e que somente 12,6% das criancas com mais de seis meses apresentavam periodo de amamentacao superior ou igual a seis meses.Em relacao as variaveis estudadas observou-se que a idade da mae, o numero de filhos e a historia pregressa de amamentacao tem influencia positiva sobre o habito de aleitamento, enquanto que o baixo peso ao nascer e o uso de anticoncepcionais orais tem efeitos negativos sobre a incidencia da amamentacao. Variaveis estudadas como possiveis condicionantes de stress para a mae, nao apresentaram relacao com o aleitamento. As criancas mantidas em aleitamento natural apresentam menor indice de internacoes e menor incidencia de desnutricao ate o 6o. mes de vida.Apos o 6o. mes de vida nao existe relacao entre o estado nutricional da crianca e o habito de aleitamento natural