Growth and nutritional status of Portuguese children from Lisbon, and their parents. Notes on time trends between 1971 and 2001

Abstract

Aim: To document time trends in growth and nutritional status among Portuguese children from Lisbon, and their parents.

Subjects and methods: Two growth surveys were carried out in Lisbon, Portugal in 1991 and in 2001 at the request of the Municipality of Lisbon. The 1991 sample was composed of 2018 children (992 boys and 1026 girls) and the 2001 sample was composed of 3591 children (1787 boys and 1804 girls). The ages range from 4 to 11 years. The data from these surveys is compared with published data from 1971. Data on growth and nutritional status of the children and their parents were analysed. Nutritional status of the family clusters is also documented.

Results: There was an increase in the average height of the children between 1971 and 2001, but a more severe increase in overweight and obesity. Stunting in height was virtually non-existent among the children, but leg stunting (leg length relative to height) was high. The main changes between 1991 and 2001 are towards a greater prevalence of overweight/obese family clusters and dual-burden family clusters (at least one underweight member and one overweight/obese member).

Conclusions: In this biological survey article we present two growth databases that may be used in future studies. There is an urgent need to conduct a national growth survey in Portugal, including all age groups, with stratified samples by district and ethnic diversity.

Keywords::

• Child growth
• body proportions
• obesity
• nutritional status
• Portugal

Declaration of interest: The study was supported in part by a travel grant from Loughborough University Graduate School – Santander Bank. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.