Prevalence of overweight and obesity among Brazilian adolescents over time: a systematic review and meta‑analysis.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the burden of weight excess in Brazilian adolescents. DESIGN Systematic review with meta-analysis. SETTING We searched the literature in four databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, SciELO and LILACS). Studies were included if they had cross-sectional or cohort design and enrolled Brazilian adolescents. Studies based on self-reported measures were excluded. Random effect models were used to calculate prevalence estimate and its 95% confidence interval (95%CI). PARTICIPANTS Brazilian adolescents (10 to 19 years old). RESULTS One hundred and fifty-one studies were included. Trend analyses showed a significant increase in the prevalence of excess weight in the last decades: 8.2% (95%CI:7.7-8.7) until year 2000, 18.9 (95%CI:14.7-23.2) from 2000 to 2009, and 25.1% (95%CI:23.4-26.8) in 2010 and after. A similar temporal pattern was observed in the prevalence of overweight and obesity separately. In sensitivity analyses, lower prevalence of excess weight was found in older adolescents and those defined using IOTF cutoff points. The Southeast and South regions had the highest prevalence of excess weight, overweight and obesity. No significant difference in prevalence by sex was found, except for studies before the year 2000. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Brazilian adolescents is high and continues to rise. Public policies on an individual level and targeting modifications in the obesogenic environment are necessary.