The aim of this study was to associate the epidemiology of whole body, peripheral, and central adiposity with sociodemographic characteristics, health-related behaviors, and biological maturation of adolescents from a Brazilian state capital. A cross-sectional school-based study was conducted in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil with 818 adolescents aged 14 to 18 years, and 61.8% female. The peripheral adiposity was assessed by the triceps skinfold thickness and the central adiposity by the subscapular skinfold thickness, using cutoff greater than or equal to percentile 90 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference curve. Adolescents with high whole body adiposity were those showing skinfold thickness values above the reference percentile. Logistic regression analysis was applied using multivariable model. The prevalence of high whole body, peripheral, and central adiposity was 8.0%, 8.7%, and 10.3% for boys and 3.8%, 6.3%, and 11.1% for girls, respectively. Factors associated with this outcome in boys were overweight/obesity and low aerobic fitness (p < 0.05). Besides these factors, girls were also associated with excessive body fat, low paternal schooling, and puberty status (p < 0.05). Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and eating habits were not associated with this outcome. It was concluded that the main predictors of high body adiposity were overweight and low aerobic fitness in both sexes and low parental schooling and puberty status in females.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of socioeconomic, demographic and lifestyle factors on abdominal obesity in adolescents from a Brazilian state capital. In this cross-sectional study, 656 high school students (423 girls and 233 boys) from public schools, ranging in age from 14 to 19 yr, were evaluated. Abdominal obesity was identified based on waist circumference. Socioeconomic data (socioeconomic status, household head's education, and school grade), demographic data (gender and age), and information regarding lifestyle (physical activity, eating habits, aerobic fitness, and nutritional status) were collected. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was 6.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.6-8.4). Being in the second (odds ratio [OR] = 0.41; 95% CI: 0.19-0.88) or third year (OR = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.06-0.59) of high school was a protective factor against abdominal obesity. In addition, students presenting low aerobic fitness (OR = 4.10; 95% CI: 1.62-10.4) and those with excess weight (OR = 208.6; 95% CI: 47.7-911.7) had a higher probability of abdominal obesity. In conclusion, demographic factors such as school grade, lifestyle habits, low aerobic fitness and excess weight are associated with central obesity.

Purpose. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between health-related physical fitness and sociodemographic factors in students from a capital city of a Brazilian state. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 605 students aged 15 to 19 years. Sociodemographic data were collected, including gender, age, education level and family income, and correlated to physical fitness levels. Results. The percentages of students with unhealthy body composition, unhealthy skeletal muscle fitness and aerobic fitness levels were 23.8%, 34.4% and 30.5%, respectively. There was a trend for fewer male adolescents (Or: 0.65; IC95%: 0.42-0.98) to have unhealthy body composition. Students from lower socioeconomic families were less likely to have musculoskeletal unfitness (Or = 0.60; IC95%: 0.41-0.89). In relation to aerobic fitness, male students (Or = 3.86; IC95%: 2.67-5.58) and those aged 17-19 years (rO = 1.49; IC95%: 1.02-2.177) were more likely to be unfit. Conclusions. It is important to encourage young people to take part in sports and physical activities at moderate to vigorous intensities in order to improve their body composition, aerobic capacity and physical fitness.

-Physical inactivity is considered a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The aim of this study was to analyze the association of socio demographic factors, weight status, body adiposity and sedentary behavior with the practice of walking and moderate and vigorous physical activity in adolescents. This cross-sectional study included 631 adolescents (413 girls) aged 14-17 years. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Boys showed longer time of practice of walking and vigorous activity than girls. Adolescents of high economic level were more involved in vigorous activities. Overweight girls and adolescents showed, respectively, 98 and 138 minutes/ week less of practice of walking when compared to boys and normal-weight adolescents. Adolescents with high body adiposity had 100 minutes/week more of practice of walking in relation to adolescents with normal adiposity. In relation to vigorous activity, girls showed 198 minutes/week less when compared to boys. The association of factors investigated in this study with the practice of physical activity in adolescents varies according to the type and intensity of the activity performed. Key words: Adolescents; Physical activity; Public health. Resumo -A inatividade física é considerada uma das principais causas de morbimortalidade no mundo. O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a associação de fatores sociodemo