Dietary habits and cardiometabolic risk in adolescents in southern Tamaulipas

Abstract

Cardiometabolic risk constitutes one of the main public health problems due to its close association with non-communicable diseases. Among the conditioning factors are inadequate eating patterns (overweight and obesity), physical inactivity, and blood pressure alterations. In this context, the objective of the study was to analyze the association of these factors with cardiometabolic risk in adolescents from a public school in southern Tamaulipas. A cross-sectional, descriptive, and associative study was conducted using a questionnaire and anthropometric evaluation of 508 secondary school students, also considering socioeconomic level. Cardiometabolic risk was calculated based on the waist-to-height ratio and estimated using binary logistic regression. The results indicate that 53.7 \% of respondents were female, with a mean age of 13 years; 53.9 \% were overweight, and 43.5 \% presented cardiometabolic risk. The model indicated that males had an OR = 0.448 (p < 0.05), reflecting a lower likelihood of presenting risk compared to females. Diastolic blood pressure was also significantly associated with risk (OR = 1.12; p < 0.05), such that each one mmHg increase raised it 1.12 times. Frequent consumption of low-nutritional-value foods increased risk (OR = 1.36; p < .05), whereas whole-grain bread intake and physical activity were associated with lower risk. No effect of age or socioeconomic level was identified. These findings reinforce the need to implement preventive strategies that promote healthy lifestyles from early stages of life.