Dados do Trabalho

Título

Prevalence of obesity in Brazilian adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of national representativeness

Introdução

Obesity is an important public health problem and a major contributor to the health burden globally. Obesity-related susceptibility to infectious diseases is mostly thought to be due to an impairment of both innate and adaptive immune responses and vitamin D deficiency. Because of the personal, social, and economic impact, it is necessary to synthesize the evidence on the prevalence of obesity to help health policymakers better understand the extent of this chronic disease and develop strategies to improve access and treatment for individuals, as well as invest in preventive measures for emerging countries such as Brazil, which also has a large territorial area and regional disparities.

Objetivo (s)

To measure the obesity prevalence between in Brazilian adults by macro-region.

Material e Métodos

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the Cochrane Guidelines. We searched five independent databases to perform the sensitive literature search: MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Central (from the Cochrane Library), Scopus, and Latin American and Caribbean Health Science Information (LILACS). In addition, we manually searched the reference lists of included studies. The protocol
PROSPERO was registred by code (#CRD42023390871).

Resultados e Conclusão

Our search retrieved 5634 studies and 46 included.The combined prevalence of obesity in Brazilian adults corresponded to 17% (95% CI: 12-22%). Obesity had a higher prevalence among women 20% (CI 95%: 13%; 27%) than obesity in men 14% (CI 95%: 7%; 20%) without difference (p=0.19). Regarding the regions of Brazil, the obesity range was between 11.1% and 16.9%, with a higher frequency in the South region and a lower frequency in the Northeast region. Obesity in the urban area was 2.0% higher than in the rural area, with a prevalence of obesity of 15.1% (95% CI: 3.1%; 27.2%) versus 12.7% (95% CI: 3.6%; 21.8%). According to the World Obesity Atlas 2023 carried out by the World Obesity Federation, the global prevalence of obesity in adults was 14% in 2020. The prevalence of obesity among Brazilian adults is higher than among adults in the rest of the world. These data show the urgency of effective public policies addressing obesity prevention in the country.

Palavras-chave

Obesity. Brazilians. Prevalence. Prevention.