Due to rising rates of obesity globally, the present study aimed to examine differences in overweight and underweight prevalence in Western Australian schoolchildren in 2008 compared with 2003.

Cross-sectional study at two time points; using two-stage stratified sampling, primary and secondary schools in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan Western Australia; sample selected was representative of the State's population figures.

Seventeen primary and thirteen secondary (2008) and nineteen primary and seventeen secondary (2003) schools. Government and non-government funded schools in metropolitan and non-metropolitan (regional/rural) Western Australia were recruited.

Height and weight were measured for 1708 (961 primary and 747 secondary) students in 2008 and 1694 (876 primary and 817 secondary) students in 2003.

Overweight and obesity prevalence in primary students was similar in 2008 (22·9 %) to 2003 (23·2 %; P > 0·05). In secondary girls overweight and obesity prevalence dropped from 23·1 % (2003) to 15·9 % (2008; P = 0·002). Secondary boys showed a slight decrease in overweight and obesity prevalence; however, this was not statistically significant (P = 0·102). Higher proportions of underweight in primary girls were observed in 2008 (9·9 %) compared with 2003 (4·2 %; P < 0·001) and in secondary girls in 2008 (9·4 %) compared with 2003 (5·5 %; P < 0·001).

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Western Australian primary students was stable; however, it declined in secondary students. Both primary and secondary girls showed an increase in underweight prevalence. Public health interventions are needed for the high percentage of youth still overweight, whereas the observed increase in underweight girls warrants attention and further investigation.

To investigate the proportion of foods that are unhealthy to which children are exposed at the checkout of convenience supermarkets.

We performed a cross-sectional survey of foodstuffs displayed at the checkout. Products displayed at or below children's eye-level were designated as healthy, unhealthy or unclassifiable using the Food Standards Agency's scoring criteria.

Thirteen convenience supermarkets from the three leading UK supermarket chains were selected on the basis of proximity to the town hall in Sheffield, England.

Convenience supermarkets were defined as branches of supermarket chains that were identified as being other than superstores on their company's store locator website.

In almost all of the convenience supermarkets surveyed, the main healthy product on display was sugar-free chewing gum. On average, when chewing gum was not included as a foodstuff, 89% of the products on display at the checkouts of convenience supermarkets were unhealthy using the Food Standards Agency's criteria. One store was a notable outlier, providing only fruit and nuts at its checkout.

The overwhelming majority of products to which children are exposed at the convenience supermarket checkout are unhealthy. This is despite all the supermarket chains surveyed having signed up to the UK Government's ‘responsibility deal’.

Previous studies have suggested anti-infection effects of vitamin D, although the associations reported between vitamin D (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration) and respiratory tract infection (RTI) are conflicting. The main aim of the present study was to explore this association in a Norwegian population.

We examined the association between serum 25(OH)D and recent RTI symptoms in 6350 middle-aged and elderly participants in the Tromsø Study 6. The main outcome measurement was self-reported RTI symptoms in the previous week.

Tromsø, Norway, 69°N.

Six thousand three hundred and fifty middle-aged and elderly residents of Tromsø.

Of the 6350 included, 791 (12·5 %) reported RTI symptoms in the previous week. We classified serum 25(OH)D concentrations into quartiles and adjusted the data for current smoking habit and month of attendance. The prevalence of RTI symptoms did not increase with decreasing serum 25(OH)D level, was highest in quartile 3 (15·0 %) followed by quartile 4 (12·4 %), and was lowest in quartiles 1 and 2 (11·1 % and 11·4 %). There was no trend for increasing duration of illness with decreasing serum 25(OH)D. The prevalence of RTI symptoms was not significantly associated with the intake of fish, n-3 capsules or vitamin and/or mineral supplements, or sun exposure. Only use of cod-liver oil or fish oil capsules daily or sometimes was significantly associated with fewer RTI symptoms during the preceding 7 d (P = 0·04).

Low serum 25(OH)D was not associated with increased prevalence of recent RTI symptoms. Our findings do not support the idea that vitamin D supplementation can reduce the incidence of RTI in Norway.

Asians and Pacific Islanders have higher circulating serum ferritin (SF) compared with Caucasians but the clinical significance of this is unclear. There is a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Taiwanese Indigenous than Han Chinese. Genetically, Indigenous are related to Austronesians and account for 2 % of Taiwan's population. We tested the hypothesis that accumulation of Fe in the body contributes to the ethnic/racial disparities in MetS in Taiwan.

A population-based, cross-sectional study.

National Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan and Penghu Island.

A total of 2638 healthy adults aged ≥19 years. Three ethnic groups were included.

Han Chinese and Indigenous people had comparable levels of SF. Austronesia origin was independently associated with MetS (OR = 2·61, 95 % CI 2·02, 3·36). After multiple adjustments, the odds for MetS (OR = 2·49, 95 % CI 1·15, 5·28) was significantly higher among Indigenous people in the highest SF tertile compared with those in the lowest tertile. Hakka and Penghu Islanders yielded the lowest risks (OR = 1·08, 95 % CI 0·44, 2·65 and OR = 1·21, 95 % CI 0·52, 2·78, respectively). Indigenous people in the highest SF tertile had increased risk for abnormal levels of fasting glucose (OR = 2·34, 95 % CI 1·27, 4·29), TAG (OR = 1·94, 95 % CI 1·11, 3·39) and HDL-cholesterol (OR = 2·10, 95 % CI 1·18, 3·73) than those in the lowest SF tertile.

Our results raise the possibility that ethnic/racial differences in body Fe store susceptibility may contribute to racial and geographic disparities in MetS.

To examine the association between complementary feeding indicators and attained linear growth at 6–23 months.

Secondary analysis of Phase V Demographic and Health Surveys data (2003–2008). Country-specific ANOVA models were used to estimate effects of three complementary feeding indicators (minimum meal frequency, minimum dietary diversity and minimum adequate diet) on length-for-age, adjusted for covariates and interactions of interest.

Twenty-one countries (four Asian, twelve African, four from the Americas and one European).

Sample sizes ranging from 608 to 13 676.

Less than half the countries met minimum meal frequency and minimum dietary diversity, and only Peru had a majority of the sample receiving a minimum adequate diet. Minimum dietary diversity was the indicator most consistently associated with attained length, having significant positive effect estimates (ranging from 0·16 to 1·40 for length-for-age Z-score) in twelve out of twenty-one countries. Length-for-age declined with age in all countries, and the greatest declines in its Z-score were seen in countries (Niger, −1·9; Mali, −1·6; Democratic Republic of Congo, −1·4; Ethiopia, −1·3) where dietary diversity was persistently low or increased very little with age.

There is growing recognition that poor complementary feeding contributes to the characteristic negative growth trends observed in developing countries and therefore needs focused attention and its own tailored interventions. Dietary diversity has the potential to improve linear growth. Using four food groups to define minimum dietary diversity appears to capture enough information in a simplified, standard format for multi-country comparisons of the quality of complementary diets.

The current research examined the association between state disfavoured tax on soda (i.e. the difference between soda sales tax and the tax on food products generally) and a summary score representing the strength of state laws governing competitive beverages (beverages that compete with the beverages in the federally funded school lunch programme) in US schools.

The Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (CLASS) summary score reflected the strength of a state's laws restricting competitive beverages sold in school stores, vending machines, school fundraisers and à la carte cafeteria items. Bridging the Gap (BTG) is a nationally recognized research initiative that provided state-level soda tax data. The main study outcome was the states’ competitive beverage summary scores for elementary, middle and high school grade levels, as predicted by the states’ disfavoured soda tax. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted, adjusting for year and state.

Data from BTG and CLASS were used.

BTG and CLASS data from all fifty states and the District of Columbia from 2003 to 2010 were used.

A higher disfavoured soda sales tax was generally associated with an increased likelihood of having strong school beverage laws across grade levels, and especially when disfavoured soda sales tax was >5 %.

These data suggest a concordance between states’ soda taxes and laws governing beverages sold in schools. States with high disfavoured sales tax on soda had stronger competitive beverage laws, indicating that the state sales tax environment may be associated with laws governing beverage policy in schools.

To measure the prevalence of cooking dinner at home in the USA and test whether home dinner preparation habits are associated with socio-economic status, race/ethnicity, country of birth and family structure.

Cross-sectional analysis. The primary outcome, self-reported frequency of cooking dinner at home, was divided into three categories: 0–1 dinners cooked per week (‘never’), 2–5 (‘sometimes’) and 6–7 (‘always’). We used bivariable and multivariable regression analyses to test for associations between frequency of cooking dinner at home and factors of interest.

The 2007–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

The sample consisted of 10 149 participants.

Americans reported cooking an average of five dinners per week; 8 % never, 43 % sometimes and 49 % always cooked dinner at home. Lower household wealth and educational attainment were associated with a higher likelihood of either always or never cooking dinner at home, whereas wealthier, more educated households were more likely to sometimes cook dinner at home (P < 0·05). Black households cooked the fewest dinners at home (mean = 4·4, 95 % CI 4·2, 4·6). Households with foreign-born reference persons cooked more dinners at home (mean = 5·8, 95 % CI 5·7, 6·0) than households with US-born reference persons (mean = 4·9, 95 % CI 4·7, 5·1). Households with dependants cooked more dinners at home (mean = 5·2, 95 % CI 5·1, 5·4) than households without dependants (mean = 4·6, 95 % CI 4·3, 5·0).

Home dinner preparation habits varied substantially with socio-economic status and race/ethnicity, associations that likely will have implications for designing and appropriately tailoring interventions to improve home food preparation practices and promote healthy eating.

To assess levels of and identify factors associated with food insecurity on the Navajo Nation.

A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing the ten-item Radimer/Cornell food insecurity instrument. Sociodemographic, psychosocial and anthropometric data were collected.

Navajo Nation, USA.

Two hundred and seventy-six members of the Navajo Nation were randomly selected at food stores and other community locations.

Of the sample, 76·7 % had some level of food insecurity. Less education (mean years of schooling: P = 0·0001; non-completion of higher education: P = 0·0003), lower full-time employment rates (P = 0·01), and lower material style of life (P = 0·0001), food knowledge (P = 0·001) and healthy eating self-efficacy (P < 0·0001) scores were all positively associated with food insecurity. Perceived expensiveness (P < 0·0001) and perceived inconvenience (P = 0·0001) of healthy choices were also positively associated with food insecurity.

Food insecurity rates on the Navajo Nation are the highest reported to date in the USA and are likely attributable to the extremely high rates of poverty and unemployment. Reducing food insecurity on the Navajo Nation will require increasing the availability of affordable healthy foods, addressing poverty and unemployment, and providing nutrition programmes to increase demand.

To develop a software to plan and evaluate school meals according to the main national and international standards for foods and nutrition.

Development of software.

Public schools, Portugal.

School meals for students.

The System of Planning and Evaluation of School Meals (SPARE) is a software that allows the planning of school meals in an effective and organized way, according to the main national and international standards for food and nutrition. The regular use of this tool enables the evaluation, monitoring and verification towards continuous improvement of the quality of school meals.

The SPARE software aims to promote healthy eating by focusing on the planning and production of safe and adequate meals in the school environment. This software can be adapted to different age groups and to different contexts, attending to specific nutritional and food standards.

To examine the micronutrient status of disadvantaged pre-schoolers from Northeast Brazil, following the introduction of pro-poor policies, by assessing the prevalence of anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies and the role of sociodemographic factors, genetic Hb disorders and parasitic infections.

In a cross-sectional study, data on sociodemographic status, health, growth, genetic Hb disorders, parasites and nutrient supply from day-care meals were obtained. Fasting blood samples were collected and analysed for Hb, serum ferritin, transferrin receptor, folate, vitamin B12, retinol, Zn and Se.

Seven philanthropic day-care centres serving urban slums in Salvador, Northeast Brazil.

Pre-schoolers aged 3–6 years from disadvantaged households.

Of the 376 sampled children, 94 % were of black or mixed race; 33 % and 29 % had at least one genetic Hb disorder and intestinal parasite, respectively. Stunting and underweight were ≤5 %; 14 % were overweight. Day-care centres supplied micronutrient-dense meals and snacks each weekday. Less than 10 % of pre-schoolers had anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies. Predictors (P < 0·05) of Hb were α3·7 thalassaemia, Se and retinol (but not ferritin). Micronutrient predictors (P < 0·05) were: elevated α1-glycoprotein for ferritin, Hb AS and BMI Z-score >1 for transferrin receptor, Zn and elevated α1-glycoprotein for retinol, sex and helminths for Se, helminths for vitamin B12, and Giardia intestinalis infection for serum folate.

Impaired growth, anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies were uncommon among these disadvantaged pre-schoolers attending day care. A range of interventions including provision of micronutrient-dense, fortified day-care meals, deworming and vitamin A supplementation likely contributed to improved micronutrient status, suggesting expanded coverage of these programmes.

To identify and critique tools that assess Ca and/or dairy intake in children to ascertain the most accurate and reliable tools available.

A systematic review of the literature was conducted using defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles were included on the basis that they reported on a tool measuring Ca and/or dairy intake in children in Western countries and reported on originally developed tools or tested the validity or reliability of existing tools. Defined criteria for reporting reliability and validity properties were applied.

Studies in Western countries.

Children.

Eighteen papers reporting on two tools that assessed dairy intake, ten that assessed Ca intake and five that assessed both dairy and Ca were identified. An examination of tool testing revealed high reliance on lower-order tests such as correlation and failure to differentiate between statistical and clinically meaningful significance. Only half of the tools were tested for reliability and results indicated that only one Ca tool and one dairy tool were reliable. Validation studies showed acceptable levels of agreement (<100 mg difference) and/or sensitivity (62–83 %) and specificity (55–77 %) in three Ca tools. With reference to the testing methodology and results, no tools were considered both valid and reliable for the assessment of dairy intake and only one tool proved valid and reliable for the assessment of Ca intake.

These results clearly indicate the need for development and rigorous testing of tools to assess Ca and/or dairy intake in children and adolescents.

In the present analysis, we seek to establish a relationship between time spent on food-related activities and food security status as well as between time spent on these activities and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program) participation and benefit level.

After matching similar households using Coarsened Exact Matching, we estimate the relationship between food-related time, food insecurity and SNAP participation and benefit level using a comprehensive data set that combines two subsets of the Current Population Survey from years 2004–2010: the Food Security Supplement and the American Time Use Survey.

City, suburban and rural areas of the USA.

Non-institutionalized US population over the age of 15 years. Total sample size is 10 247 households.

In single households, food insecurity and SNAP participation are associated with 20 % more time in meal preparation and 13 % less time eating. Similarly, in married households, SNAP participation and benefit level are associated with 32 % less time in meal preparation while food insecurity is associated with 17 % less time eating and 14 % less time in grocery shopping.

A significant relationship exists between time spent on food-related activities and food insecurity and SNAP. This implies that federal and state government may need to consider the time constraints many low-income households face when reforming food assistance programmes.

To assess the salt content of continental European convenience and ready meals.

A multistage study in which, after laboratory analysis of the products’ salt contents (n 32), new salt-reduced meals were developed through food reformulation. Additionally, a comprehensive survey of convenience meals from the Austrian market (n 572) was conducted to evaluate the salt contents of a wider product range.

Six continental European countries participated.

No subjects enrolled.

The salt contents of continental European convenience and ready meals mostly exceeded 1·8 g/100 g, which is 30 % of the targeted daily intake level; some contained even more than the recommended daily intake of 6 g. The highest salt contents were found in pizzas and pasta dishes, the lowest ones in sweet meals. Large variations in salt levels were found not only between and within meal type categories, but also between similar meals from different producers. In addition, our approach to develop new salt-reduced meals showed that a stepwise reduction of the ready meals’ salt contents is possible without compromising the sensory quality.

To address the problem of hypertension and increased risk for CVD through high salt intake, a reduction of the salt levels in continental European convenience and ready meals is urgently needed, since they are providing a major part of the daily salt intake. Successful national-wide salt reduction strategies in the UK or Finland have already demonstrated the public health impact of this setting.

To explore the influences of migration to a Western country on obesity and related risk factors by comparing measures of body composition and energy balance-related behaviours between Turkish adolescents in Turkey (TR-TR) and adolescents from Turkish immigrant ethnicity in the Netherlands (TR-NL).

Cross-sectional survey or baseline intervention data from six Dutch school-based studies and one Turkish study.

Primary and secondary schools.

A total of 915 (49 % girls; mean age 13·1 (sd 0·8) years) TR-TR adolescents and 433 (51 % girls; mean age 11·7 (sd 1·3) years) TR-NL adolescents were included. Outcome measures were self-reported sugar-containing beverage consumption, fruit and vegetable intake, screen time, physical activity, measured body height and weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences, and skinfold thicknesses.

Our data showed that more TR-NL adolescents were overweight (31 % v. 26 %) and obese (9 % v. 6 %) and had significantly higher mean BMI (21·1 v. 20·0 kg/m2), waist circumference (72·2 v. 71·3 cm) and suprailiac skinfold thickness (19·8 v. 13·1 mm) than TR-TR adolescents. TR-NL adolescents reported significantly higher sugar-containing beverage consumption (1173 v. 115 ml/d), less fruit and vegetable intake (295 v. 647 g/d), less screen time (253 v. 467 min/d) and higher physical activity levels (61 v. 27 min/d) than TR-TR adolescents.

Immigrant adolescents in the Netherlands were more often overweight and had a less favourable dietary pattern than their peers in Turkey, while their physical activity and screen time patterns were more favourable. These results suggest that adolescents from Turkish immigrant ethnicity in the Netherlands have adopted lifestyles towards the host culture.

While socio-economically disadvantaged adolescents tend to have poor dietary intakes, some manage to eat healthily. Understanding how some disadvantaged adolescents restrict high-energy foods and beverages may inform initiatives promoting healthier diets among this population. The present investigation aimed to: (i) identify disadvantaged adolescents’ high-energy food and beverage intakes; and (ii) explore cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between intrapersonal, social and environmental factors and disadvantaged adolescents’ high-energy food intakes.

Longitudinal online surveys were completed at baseline (2004–2005) and follow-up (2006–2007), each comprising a thirty-eight-item FFQ and questions examining intrapersonal, social and environmental factors.

Thirty-seven secondary schools in metropolitan and non-metropolitan Victoria, Australia.

Of 1938 adolescents aged 12–15 years participating at both time points, 529 disadvantaged adolescents (whose mothers had low education levels) were included in the present investigation.

At baseline and follow-up, respectively 32 % and 39 % of adolescents consumed high-energy foods less frequently (≤2 high-energy food meals/week); 61 % and 65 % consumed high-energy beverages less frequently (≤1 time/d). More girls than boys had less frequent high-energy food intakes, and baseline consumption frequency predicted consumption frequency at follow-up. Adolescents with less frequent consumption of high-energy foods and beverages seldom ate fast food for main meals, reported reduced availability of high-energy foods at home and were frequently served vegetables at dinner.

Nutrition promotion initiatives could help improve disadvantaged adolescents’ eating behaviours by promoting adolescents and their families to replace high-energy meals with nutritious home-prepared meals and decrease home availability of high-energy foods in place of more nutritious foods.

Snacking has been related to increased prevalence of overweight among school-age children in cross-sectional studies. It is uncertain, however, whether snacking influences the development of adiposity over time.

We examined whether adherence to a snacking dietary pattern was associated with greater increases in children's BMI, subscapular:triceps skinfold thickness ratio and waist circumference over a median 2·5-year follow-up. Dietary patterns were identified through principal component analysis of an FFQ administered at recruitment in 2006. Anthropometric follow-up was conducted annually. Linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate rates of change in each indicator according to quartiles of adherence to the snacking pattern. We also examined change in BMI, subscapular:triceps skinfold thickness ratio and waist circumference in relation to intake of the food items in the snacking pattern.

Children (n 961) 5–12 years of age.

Public schools in Bogotá, Colombia.

After adjustment for age, sex, total energy intake and socio-economic status, children in the highest quartile of adherence to the snacking pattern had a 0·09 kg/m2 per year higher BMI gain than children in the lowest quartile (P trend = 0·05). A similar association was observed for mean change in subscapular:triceps skinfold thickness ratio (highest v. lowest quartile difference = 0·012/year; P = 0·03). Of the food items in the snacking pattern, soda intake was positively and significantly associated with change in BMI (P trend = 0·01) and waist circumference (P trend = 0·04) in multivariable analysis.

Our results indicate that snacking and soda intake are associated with development of adiposity in school-age children.

To provide the evidence base for targeted nutrition policies to reduce the risk of micronutrient/diet-related diseases among disadvantaged populations in Europe, by focusing on: folate, vitamin B12, Fe, Zn and iodine for intake and status; and vitamin C, vitamin D, Ca, Se and Cu for intake.

MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched to collect original studies that: (i) were published from 1990 to 2011; (ii) involved >100 subjects; (iii) had assessed dietary intake at the individual level; and/or (iv) included best practice biomarkers reflecting micronutrient status. We estimated relative differences in mean micronutrient intake and/or status between the lowest and highest socio-economic groups to: (i) evaluate variation in intake and status between socio-economic groups; and (ii) report on data availability.

Europe.

Children, adults and elderly.

Data from eighteen publications originating primarily from Western Europe showed that there is a positive association between indicators of socio-economic status and micronutrient intake and/or status. The largest differences were observed for intake of vitamin C in eleven out of twelve studies (5–47 %) and for vitamin D in total of four studies (4–31 %).

The positive association observed between micronutrient intake and socio-economic status should complement existing evidence on socio-economic inequalities in diet-related diseases among disadvantaged populations in Europe. These findings could provide clues for further research and have implications for public health policy aimed at improving the intake of micronutrients and diet-related diseases.

To describe the prevalence of ‘graded thinness’ in children aged 11, 13 and 15 years in eleven developed countries and to identify trends in the prevalence of ‘thinness’ (BMI < 17 kg/m2 at age 18 years) by age and gender.

Cross-sectional study using data collected through self-reported questionnaires.

Data were taken from the 1997/1998, 2001/2002 and 2005/2006 surveys of the Health Behaviours in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study.

Children and adolescents from ten European countries and the USA (n 158 000).

Prevalence of grades 1, 2 and 3 of thinness was higher among 11-year-old students compared with the 13- and 15-year-olds in all countries. A higher prevalence of thinness was observed in girls than in boys. Since 1998 the prevalence of thinness decreased steadily in Czech boys and girls, while it increased for French girls. In the total European sample of females, thinness decreased from 1998 to 2006 (χ2 for trend, P < 0·01). Age-adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that Czech boys and girls, and Flemish and American girls were less likely to be thin in 2006 than in 1998; while a noteworthy increment, even if borderline significant, was observed for French girls with a 41 % increase in the likelihood to be thin.

Our findings suggest that thinness is an important overlooked phenomenon with wide variation in prevalence and trends across developed countries. It deserves further longitudinal studies in a multinational context that could increase the understanding of the factors associated with thinness and contribute to developing preventive and nutritional programmes targeted at controlling obesity and chronic diseases, while monitoring thinness.

To assess the agreement between self-perceived weight status and BMI status, calculated from self-reported height and weight, in nurses and to evaluate the relationship between weight status misperceptions and personal body weight, demographics and health status.

Cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

A large university in London, UK.

Four hundred and fifty-six student nurses and 588 qualified nurses attending university were surveyed; 355 student nurses and 409 qualified nurses completed questionnaires representing a response rate of 78 % and 70 %, respectively.

The respondents were mainly female (90·0 %), 66·5 % were white and their mean age was 31 years. Sixty-eight per cent of qualified nurses and 77 % of student nurses correctly perceived their weight status. In logistic regression, (mixed) black ethnicity (OR = 2·53, 95 % CI 1·01, 6·32), overweight by BMI (OR = 3·10, 95 % CI 1·31, 7·33) and ≥3 family histories of obesity co-morbidities (OR = 2·51, 95 % CI 1·04, 6·08) were significantly associated with misperceptions in the sample of student nurses, whereas overweight by BMI (OR = 5·32, 95 % CI 2·66, 10·67) was the only significant variable in the sample of qualified nurses.

A substantial proportion of nurses misclassified their weight status. Nurses’ misperception of weight status was related to their own BMI status, ethnic background and obesity-related family histories. Being aware of this may help nurses not only promote their own healthy weight, but also fulfil their public health role to practise weight management successfully with both patients and the public. While limitations of the sample mean that the study findings cannot be generalized, they do provide grounds for future larger-scale research.

The present study aimed to evaluate the frequency of deficiency/insufficiency of vitamin D in adolescents and its relationship to overweight and metabolic disorders.

Cross-sectional study. Nutritional status was assessed by BMI according to WHO recommendations. Dietary intake was evaluated using a 3 d dietary record. The biochemical evaluation comprised measurements of serum lipids, lipoproteins, glucose, insulin, calcidiol (25(OH)D) and parathyroid hormone. Insulin resistance was calculated using the homeostasis model assessment. Body composition and blood pressure were assessed.

Fifteen schools (eight public and seven private) in the central city of Juiz de Fora, Brazil.

The analysis included a study population of 160 adolescents (seventy-seven eutrophic and eighty-three overweight) aged 15 to 17 years.

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency was observed in 1·25 and 70·6 % of adolescents, respectively. Serum 25(OH)D levels were statistically lower in adolescents with weight excess, abdominal obesity, hypercholesterolaemia, higher levels of parathyroid hormone, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinaemia and hypertension (P < 0·05). Lower BMI and waist circumference were observed in the third (highest) tertile of vitamin D intake for all adolescents. The high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency is primarily nutritional and reflects a low vitamin D intake.

Our results support the negative association among serum 25(OH)D levels and vitamin D intake with non-skeletal outcomes in Brazilian adolescents. Vitamin D fortification of foods and/or the use of vitamin D supplements need to be considered to raise vitamin D intake in the adolescent population, even in a sunny country like Brazil.