Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk Stratification in Schoolchildren from Santa Clara

• Main Authors: Elizabeth Fernández Martínez (Author), Clara Luz Rodríguez Cervera (Author), Emilio González Rodríguez (Author), Yosvani García Nóbrega (Author), Alianny Rodríguez Urrutia (Author), Merlin Gari Llanes (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Universidad de las Ciencias Médicas de Cienfuegos, 2022-06-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2221-2434
• Keywords: obesidad; sobrepeso; factores de riesgo cardiometabólico; niño; cuba; Internal medicine; RC31-1245; Special situations and conditions; RC952-1245
• Source: Revista Finlay, Vol 12, Iss 2, Pp 196-207 (2022)

<p><strong>Background:</strong> noncommunicable diseases have been among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world and in Cuba for more than 20 years. These include: obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes mellitus. These pathologies appear from childhood and their prevention must begin from an early age. <br /><strong>Objectives:</strong> to determine obesity, stratify cardiometabolic risk and promote healthy lifestyles in schoolchildren from Santa Clara. <br /><strong>Methods:</strong> an epidemiological, descriptive investigation with a cross-sectional design was carried out on 959 schoolchildren between 8 and 12 years of age in Santa Clara and between 2012 and 2020. Computer programs were developed, which allowed studying obesity and calculating body mass indexes, waist -hip and waist-height. Variables were included such as: age, sex, skin color, weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, blood pressure, personal and family pathological history, clinical laboratory tests, electrocardiograms and echocardiograms. Double-entry contingency tables were used to record the frequency of appearance of the values of two variables simultaneously. Non-parametric tests were applied, such as Chi Square for factor independence and proportion difference hypothesis test for independent groups. <br /><strong>Results:</strong> 17.94 % of schoolchildren were overweight and 15.95 % obese. 4.48 % were moderately obese and 9.18 % were severely obese. The means of cholesterol, triglycerides and uric acid increased with the degree of obesity. Cardiometabolic risk estimates were developed in Android and WEB formats.<br /><strong>Conclusions:</strong> there are high percentages of obese and overweight. The waist-hip ratio was the best predictor of cardiometabolic risk in the study conducted in Santa Clara. Greater clinical and educational intervention is required, which guarantees the adoption of healthier lifestyles.</p>