Abstract
Objective: To analyze the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in children from public schools in a city in the state of Minas Gerais. Methods: This is an observational cross-sectional study with data collected by clinical examination performed on students of both sexes in the fifth year of elementary school in public schools. A questionnaire was applied with questions about eating habits and physical activity and a physical examination was carried out, consisting of weighing, height verification, waist circumference measurement, blood pressure measurement and BMI calculation. Results: It was identified that 27.16% of female children and 30.15% of male children were outside their ideal weight. Regarding waist circumference, 28.57% of boys and 25.92% of girls were out of the standard. As for blood pressure, borderline values and above what was considered healthy were identified in 6.25% of students. According to the analysis of the BMI, 27.08% of the individuals evaluated were overweight, 46.15% were female and 53.85% were male. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of factors predisposing to cardiovascular diseases and the study of such pathologies requires analysis of social, environmental, economic and genetic factors