Abstract:

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among students aged 18-50 years in a private educational institution in a municipality in the Legal Amazon-RO / Brazil. The sample consisted of 173 students, selected by convenience, 92 (53.2%) were male and 81 individuals (46.8%) females, to assess the incidence of overweight and obesity, we used the body mass index (BMI) by the quotient body mass / (height) 2, and body mass in kilograms (kg) and height in meters (m) (World Health Organization, 2010). The results presented in this study demonstrated that (53.18%) of the sample falls within a normal weight rating, the highest prevalence of overweight / obesity was the male sample (31.52%), the female sample there was high prevalence of low weight (32.10%) and overall (23.7%) is overweight / obese. It was concluded that most of the sample of both sexes are a normal weight rating and was observed a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity for male sample and low weight for female sample. Thus, there is a need to encourage students in general the practice of healthy habits through nutritional programs, paying attention to the psychological issues including those relating to the development of eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, in addition to encouraging the practice physical activity, thereby minimizing the risksto health of this population.

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