Abdominal Perimeter Is Associated With Food Intake, Sociodemographic And Behavioral Factors Among Adults In Southern Brazil: A Population-based Study

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the abdominal perimeter determinants in adults who live in the city of Lages, Sc. Design: A population-based cross-sectional study in adults from 20 to 59 years-old of the urban area (n=2.022). The dependent variable is the abdominal perimeter, the independent variables are: age, skin color self-reported, marital status, number of children, per capita income, education, physical activity, smoking, nutrition, self-reported diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, body weight index. The differences between the mean perimeters were tested using ANOVA test and multiple linear regression for confounding adjustment. Results: The response rate was 98.2%, 52.3% were women. The mean abdominal perimeter for men was 93.66 cm (SD 13.8) and for women 92.80 cm (SD 14.5). There was a positive association of abdominal circumference with age (p<0.001) and negative regarding education. The abdominal perimeter means were higher for those insufficiently active (p<0.001), for former smokers (p<0.001), for those who consumed meat without fat removal (p = 0.001), for those who consumed fruit less than 5 times a week (p<0.001) and for those who were overweight (p