Incidence of overweight/obesity in preschool children during a two-year follow-up

OBJECTIVE:To analyze the incidence of overweight/obesity and associated factors in children aged six years or less during a two-year follow-up.METHODS:This longitudinal cohort study followed 242 preschoolers from Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, from 2008 to 2010. The outcome was overweight/obesity (Z-score >+2) measured by accumulated incidence. The Chi-square test measured the differences between the study factors. The association between overweight/obesity and associated factors was analyzed by adjusted and crude rate ratios.RESULTS:Nine (4.00%) of the 222 non-overweight/obese children in 2008 were overweight/obese in 2010, indicating an accumulated incidence of overweight/obesity of 4.05% (1.4-6.7). The study accumulated incidence of overweight/obesity was 20.25/year/1000, similar to the incidence density of 20.65/year/1000.CONCLUSION:After adjustment, none of the study factors were associated with overweight/obesity. However, the lack of studies that investigate the incidence of overweight and obesity in preschoolers calls for longitudinal studies with larger samples that analyze not only the incidence of overweight/obesity but also other factors, such as the influence of parents' nutritional status on their offspring's nutritional status.