AIMS: To describe the methodological and operational aspects of a health survey, conducted by means of a multidisciplinary research consortium.METHODS: A cross-sectional, population-based study was conducted with individuals 18 years or older, living in the urban area of the municipality of Rio Grande, in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The sampling was probabilistic, with census tracts as the primary sample unit. The research instrument consisted of a standardized and previously tested questionnaire, with closed questions, applied by face-to-face in dwellings. A brief questionnaire was administered to 10.5% of subjects for quality control purposes. Fieldwork lasted from April to July 2016, and the study was approved by an ethics committee.RESULTS: Of the 70 sampled census tracts, 711 households were randomly selected, comprising 1,429 eligible individuals. Overall, 1,300 individuals (91.0%) of 676 households (95.1%) answered the questionnaire. Losses and refusals were more prevalent for males and downtown's sectors. The questionnaire reproducibility was satisfactory (mean kappa = 0.80).CONCLUSIONS: The main methodological aspects of a multidisciplinary research consortium were pointed out, which may be of interest to other researchers. We highlight the importance of these type of study to yield information on various health conditions of the population.

the anthropometric indicators assessed reached satisfactory diagnostic values for overweight prediction in adolescents from the Brazilian semi-arid region.

Objectives: to evaluate diagnostic criteria and to propose arm and calf circumference cutoff points to predict underweight in adolescents aged 13-19 years in two Brazilian municipalities of the semiarid region. Methods: underweight was defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than two z-scores, according to World Health Organization criteria (2007). Measurements of arm and calf circumferences were compared to BMI, and the diagnostic criteria for low-weight prediction were evaluated with the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, coefficients of sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, kappa and diagnostic odds ratios. Results: the prevalence of underweight was 4.2% (CI95%= 3.3-5.0). The cutoff points for arm circumference were 22.1 cm (adolescents of both genders aged 13-15 years), and 25.1 cm and 24.0 cm, respectively, for males and females aged 16-19 years. The cutoff points for calf circumference were 30.0 cm in the first group and 31.8 cm and 31.0 cm, respectively, in the second age group. Conclusions: both anthropometric indicators analyzed evidenced a reasonable to excellent diagnostic capacity to predict underweight among adolescents.