Overweight and obesity and associated factors in adults in a poor urban area of Northeastern Brazil

The changes that occurred in the health/disease process, especially in the field of nutrition, corroborate the replacement of nutritional deficiencies with the pandemic emergency of overweight (overweight/obesity). To analyze the prevalence and factors associated with overweight in adults living in a poor urban area in Recife, Northeast Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study with a sample of 644 adults aged 20-59 years. Possible associations of overweight with demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral and morbidity factors were analyzed through Poisson Regression, considering as statistically significant those with p < 0.05. The prevalence of overweight was 70.3%, being lower in the age range of 20-29 years, greater in the range of 30-39 years and stabilizing in the others. In the final multivariate model, it was observed that the age group, economic class, diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure were directly associated with overweight, while bean consumption showed an inverse association. The high prevalence of overweight found indicates that poor communities are already included in the nutritional transition process that is in course in country. The significant result of overweight found at this poor urban area imposes the need to include this problem as a public health priority in these communities.