Factors associated with the dietary patterns of children with precocious puberty

Objectives To investigate the nutritional status and factors associated with dietary patterns, sociodemographic variables and physical activity practice in children diagnosed with central precocious puberty (CPP). Methods Cross-sectional study with 85 female children aged 10 years with a diagnosis of CPP. Nutritional assessment was performed through body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and body composition by measurements of skinfolds (SF) and bioelectrical impedance (BIA). The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used, followed by varimax orthogonal rotation to identify dietary patterns, and Poisson regression to verify associations between variables, using a significance level of 5%. Results The group had a mean age of 8.4 years (1.30) and lived mostly in urban areas (52 – 61.2%). Excess weight was observed in 64.7% according to the BMI, 32.9% according to the WC and 63.5% according to body fat%. Two main dietary patterns were identified: the “western” and the “healthy” patterns. The identified dietary patterns were not associated with nutritional status, assessed according to all considered indicators. WC and body fat% were inversely associated with physical activity practice (PR=1.96, CI=1.12-3.43) and directly associated with the individuals’ urban area of residence (PR=0.63, CI= 0. 42-0.94), respectively. Conclusion: The results showed a high prevalence of excess weight, which was inversely associated with physical activity practice and directly with urban area of residence, although nutritional status is not associated with the identified dietary patterns. These results highlight the need for educational and informative measures to fight obesity