SummaryObesity is an endemic health problem in most developed countries, requiring serious public health attention. The first Portuguese nationwide representative survey about obesity (with objective anthropometric measurement) was undertaken from 1995 to 1998. This paper presents data coming from the second and most recent nationwide representative study of obesity, with objective measurement of weight, height, waist and hip circumferences. Data were collected between January 2003 and January 2005. The survey collected objective body mass index (BMI) values of 8116 participants aged 18-64. Main findings were: 2.4% of the sample had low weight (BMI < 18.5), 39.4% were overweight (BMI between 25.0 and 29.9), and 14.2% obese (BMI Ն 30). Waist circumference measurement showed that 45.6% of the sample suffers increased cardiovascular health risks associated with high waist circumference. The overall overweight/ obesity prevalence increased from 49.6% (in 1995-1998) to 53.6% (in 2003-2005). These data suggest that although obesity was identified as a public health problem one decade ago, action to reduce it does not seem to have been very effective to date. Well-defined public health intervention must be targeted to specific population groups where higher levels of obesity prevalence were found: low socioeconomic level groups and low-education level groups.

Introduction: The public health problem of food insecurity also affects the elderly population. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of household food insecurity and its associations with chronic disease and health-related quality of life characteristics in individuals ≥65 years of age living in the community in Portugal.Methods: The data were collected from the Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases Cohort Study 3 (EpiDoC3)—Promoting Food Security Study (2015–2016), which was the third evaluation wave of the EpiDoC and represented the Portuguese adult population. Food insecurity was assessed using a psychometric scale adapted from the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. The data on sociodemographic variables, chronic disease, and management of chronic disease were self-reported. Health-related quality of life were assessed using the European Quality of Life Survey (version validated for the Portuguese population). Logistic regression models were used to determine crude and adjusted odds ratios (for age group, gender, region, and education). The dependent variable was the perceived level of food security.Results: Among older adults, 23% were living in a food-insecure household. The odds of living in a food-insecure household were higher for individuals in the 70–74 years age group (odds ratio (OR) = 1.405, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.392–1.417), females (OR = 1.545, 95% CI 1.534–1.556), those with less education (OR = 3.355, 95% CI 3.306–3.404), low income (OR = 4,150, 95% CI 4.091–4.210), and those reporting it was very difficult to live with the current income (OR = 16.665, 95% CI 16.482–16.851). The odds of having a chronic disease were also greater among individuals living in food-insecure households: diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.832, 95% CI 1.818–1.846), pulmonary diseases (OR = 1.628, 95% CI 1.606–1.651), cardiac disease (OR = 1.329, 95% CI 1.319–1.340), obesity (OR = 1.493, 95% CI 1.477–1.508), those who reduced their frequency of medical visits (OR = 4.381, 95% CI 4.334–4.428), and who stopped taking medication due to economic difficulties (OR = 5.477, 95% CI 5.422–5.532). Older adults in food-insecure households had lower health-related quality of life (OR = 0.212, 95% CI 0.210–0.214).Conclusions: Our findings indicated that food insecurity was significantly associated with economic factors, higher values for prevalence of chronic diseases, poor management of chronic diseases, and decreased health-related quality of life in older adults living in the community.

Health literacy, a more complex concept than knowledge, is a required capacity to obtain, understand, integrate and act on health information [1], in order to enhance individual and community health, which is defined by different levels, according to the autonomy and personal capacitation in decision making [2]. Medium levels of Health literacy in an adolescent population were found in a study conducted in 2013/2014, being higher in sexual and reproductive health and lower in substance use. It was also noticed that the higher levels of health literacy were in the area adolescents refer to have receipt more health information. The health literacy competence with higher scores was communication skills, and the lower scores were in the capacity to analyze factors that influence health. Higher levels were also found in younger teenagers, but in a higher school level, confirming the importance of health education in these age and development stage. Adolescents seek more information in health professionals and parents, being friends more valued as a source information in older adolescents, which enhance the importance of peer education mainly in older adolescents [3]. As a set of competences based on knowledge, health literacy should be developed through education interventions, encompassing the cultural and social context of individuals, since the society, culture and education system where the individual is inserted can define the way the development and enforcement of the health literacy competences [4]. The valued sources of information should be taken into account, as well as needs of information in some topics referred by adolescents in an efficient health education. Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic mental illness which has a profound effect on the health and well-being related with the well-known nature of psychotic symptoms. The exercise has the potential to improve the life of people with schizophrenia improving physical health and alleviating psychiatric symptoms. However, most people with schizophrenia remains sedentary and lack of access to exercise programs are barriers to achieve health benefits. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of exercise on I) the type of intervention in mental health, II) in salivary levels of alpha-amylase and cortisol and serum levels of S100B and BDNF, and on III) the quality of life and selfperception of the physical domain of people with schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 31 females in long-term institutions in the Casa de Saúde Rainha Santa Isabel, with age between 25 and 63, and with diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). Physical fitness was assessed by the six-minute walk distance test (6MWD). Biological variables were determined by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay). Psychological variables were assessed using SF-36, PSPP-SCV, RSES and SWLS tests. Walking exercise has a positive impact on physical fitness (6MWD -p = 0.001) and physical components of the psychological test...

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Social prescribing (SP) is an approach that promotes the use of local non-clinical activities by people. The referral is usually made by primary health-care professionals, in a process wherein local providers play a pivotal role. The main objective of this study was to identify domains of intervention and evidence about the effectiveness of SP programs regarding health-related outcomes. A systematic literature review was carried out following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, CINHAL, and SCOPUS. Inclusion criteria of the reviewed papers were as follows: (i) effectiveness studies of interventions designated as SP or interventions entailing SP conceptual components; (ii) interventions with adults. Quality assessment was performed with the Cochrane tool for assessing risk of bias in randomized trials; an assessment tool developed by the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute was applied to observational studies. Overall, 13 articles were included for analysis, with a total of 4603 patients. Although three studies comprised a control group, only two followed a randomized controlled trials (RCT) design. Nine principal domains of intervention within SP were identified, with three categories of outcome measures: Physical and psychological wellbeing; Health behaviors and self-efficacy; and Health care resources end economic evaluation. SP is an emergent and promising health-care intervention, and it has been used to promote different health behaviors. Evidence of SP effectiveness on patient’s health and wellbeing is not strong. Further research is needed for understanding how SP can be applied efficiently.