Impacto of obesity on physical and mental health in adolescentes: Prevention strategies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v15i3.50604Keywords:
Adolescent Nutrition, Health Policy, Overweight.Abstract
Obesity in adolescence is an important public health issue due to its high prevalence and its clinical, psychosocial, and economic impacts throughout life. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze juvenile obesity in Brazil, addressing its determinants, consequences, and coping strategies. This is a qualitative-descriptive narrative review, conducted in 2025, based on articles published between 2020 and 2025 in the SciELO, PubMed, and LILACS databases, using descriptors related to eating behavior, body mass index, and eating habits. The results demonstrated that obesity in adolescence has a multifactorial etiology, being predominantly associated with exogenous factors such as excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods, sedentary lifestyle, influence of the family environment, and socioeconomic inequalities. A significant association was also observed with early metabolic alterations, such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, and insulin resistance, in addition to psychosocial impacts, including stigmatization, low self-esteem, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this scenario, contributing to an increase in overweight in this age group. It is concluded that addressing obesity in adolescence requires integrated and sustained actions, involving educational strategies, multidisciplinary interventions, and public policies aimed at promoting healthy food environments and the early prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases.
References
Alah, M. A. et al. (2024). COVID-19 lockdowns weigh heavily on youth: an analysis of the impact on BMI for Age Z scores in children and adolescentes. Journal of Public Health. 46, 2, 209-222.
Andrade, J. et al. (2015). Intervenções escolares para redução da obesidade infantil: uma revisão sistemática. Ciência e Saúde. 8,2, 1-7.
Araújo, C. S. et al. (2025) Uso de contraceptivos hormonais em adolescentes: abordagem farmacêutica e desafios éticos. Revista Universitária Brasileira. 3, 4, 002-018.
August, G. P. et al. (2008). Prevention and Treatment of Pediatric Obesity: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline Based on Expert Opinion. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 93, 12, 4576-4599.
Brasil, Ministério da Saúde, Secretária de Atenção à Saúde, e Departamento de Ações Programáticas e Estratégicas. (2017). Proteger e cuidar da saúde de adolescentes na atenção básica (PDF). Brasília: Ministério da Saúde. https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/proteger_cuidar_adolescentes_atencao_basica.pdf. Acesso: 14 de janeiro de 2026.
Carvalho, L. F. C.; Rodrigues, F. A. A. (2024). Uma perspectiva neurocientífica sobre a obesidade na infância e adolescência e seus impactos na saúde da coluna. Revista Cientifica de Salud y Dessarrollo Humano. 3, 1, 107-125.
Casarin, S. T., Porto, A. R., Gabatz, R. I. B., Bonow, C. A., Ribeiro, J. P. & Mota, M. S. (2020). Tipos de revisão de literatura. Journal of Nursing and Health.J. nurs. health. 10(n.esp.):e20104031.
Castro, J. M. de. et al. (2018). Prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade e os fatores de risco associados em adolescentes. Revista brasileira de obesidade, nutrição e emagrecimento. 12, 69, 84–93.
Celestino, M. J. et al. (2025) Tendências da obesidade no brasil e sua relação com doenças cardiovasculares. Revista Científica Multidisciplinar. 6, 4, 1-14.
Chavez, R. C. et al. (2020). School-based obesity prevention interventions in Latin America: A systematic review. Rev. Saúde Pública. 54, 110, 1-15.
Costa, E. M. et al. (2024). Consumption of ultra-processed foods and dental caries in Brazilian adolescents. Scientific Reports. 14, 1, 261-270.
Dahestani, N. et al. (2023). “Puberty age gap”: new method of assessing pubertal timing and its association with mental health problems. Mol Psychiatry. 29, 2, 221-228.
De Onis, M. et al. (2007). Development of a WHO growth reference for school-aged children and adolescents. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 85, 9, 660–667.
DESIDERATA. Panorama da obesidade em crianças e adolescentes no Brasil. (3. ed.). São Paulo: Fundação José Egydio Setúbal. (2024). https://desiderata.org.br/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2025/02/Panorama2024_A4_Desiderata.pdf.
Dos Santos, E. V. O. et al. (2021). Duração do sono, excesso de peso e consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados em adolescentes. Ciências e Saúde Coletiva. 26, 1, 6129-6139.
Fan, H.; Zhang, X. et al. (2022). Influence of parental weight change on the incidence of overweight and obesity in Offspring. BMC Pediatrics. 22, 330, 1-7.
Fenandes, J. M. B., Vieira, L. T. & Castelhano, M. V. C. (2023). Revisão narrativa enquanto metodologia científica significativa: reflexões técnico-formativas. REDES – Revista Educacional da Sucesso. 3(1), 1-7. ISSN: 2763-6704.
Ferreira, I. B. B. et al. Childhood obesity is associated with a high degree of metabolic disturbance in children from Brazilian semi-arid region. Scientific Reports. 14, 1, 17569.
Flodgren, G. M. et al. (2020). Primary prevention of overweight and obesity in adolescents: An overview of systematic reviews. Obes Rev. 21, 11, 1-17.
Gil, A. C. (2017). Como elaborar um projeto de pesquisas. Editora Atlas.
Gonçalves, F. C. L. da S. P. et al. (2024) Weight gain from birth to adolescence and TyG index at age 18 years: A cohort study in northeast Brazil. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 28, 4, 729–737.
Kula, A. et al. (2024). Waist circumference as a parameter in school based interventions to prevent overweight and obesity - a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Heath. 24, 2865, 1-20.
Lousada, M. L. C. et al. (2015) Consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in Brazilian adolescents and adults. Prev Med. 81, 9-15.
Louzada, M. L. C. et al. (2021). Impacto do consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados na saúde de crianças, adolescentes e adultos: revisão de escopo. Cadernos de Saúde Pública.37, 13, p. 1-10.
Madalosso, M. M. et al. (2023). Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cardiometabolic risk factors in Brazilian adolescents: results from ERICA. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 77, 11, 1084–1092.
Marceau, K. et al. (2011). Individual Differences in Boys’ and Girls’ Timing and Tempo of Puberty: Modeling Development With Nonlinear Growth Models. Dev Psychol. 47, 5, 1389-1409.
NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescentes, and adults. (2024). The Lancet. 16, 403, 1027-1050.
Nilson, E. A. F. et al. (2025). Trends in the prevalence of obesity and estimation of the direct health costs attributable to child and adolescent obesity in Brazil from 2013 to 2022. PLoS One. 20, 1, 1-20.
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Health at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators. (2025). Paris: OECD. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/health-at-a-glance-2025_8f9e3f98-en.html.
Omary, A. et al. (2025). Multimodal Measurement of Pubertal Development: Stage, Timing, Tempo, and Hormones. Child Development. 96, 3, 980-999.
Pereira et al. (2018). Metodologia da pesquisa científica. [Free ebook]. Editora da UFSM
Pimenta, T. A. et al. (2015). Políticas Públicas de Intervenção na Obesidade Infantil no Brasil: uma Breve Análise da Política Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição e Política Nacional de Promoção da Saúde. UNOPAR Cient Ciênc Biol Saúde. 17, 2, 139-146.
Prado, C. C. et al. (2021). Prevalência de fatores associados ao sobrepeso e obesidade em adolescentes a partir de inquéritos populacionais de base escolar. Revista SUSTINERE. 9, 1, 372-397.
Rodrigues, L. S. et al. Obesidade e interseccionalidade: análise crítica de narrativas no âmbito das políticas públicas de saúde no Brasil (2004-2021). Cad. Saúde Pública. 39, 7, 1-14.
Silva, T. P. R. da et al. (2022). The coexistence of obesogenic behaviors among Brazilian adolescents and their associated factors. BMC Public Health. 22, 1, 1290.
Singh, R. K. et al. (2017). Molecular genetics of human obesity: A comprehensive review. Comptes Rendus Biologies. 340, 87-108.
Tomayko, E. J. et al. (2021). Parent Involvement in Diet or Physical Activity Interventions to Treat or Prevent Childhood Obesity: An Umbrella Review. Nutrients. 13, 9, 1-17.
WORLD OBESITY FEDERATION. World Obesity Atlas 2024. https://www.worldobesity.org/resources/resource-library/world-obesity-atlas-2024?.
WORLD OBESITY FEDERATION. World Obesity Atlas 2025.
https://data.worldobesity.org/publications/PBO---Atlas-Mundial-da-Obesidade---WOF-2025-PT-BR.pdf.
Zaccagni, L.; Gualdi-Russo, E. (2025). Reduced Physical Activity and Increased Weight Status in Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review. Children (Basel). 12, 178, 1-31.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Raquel Paes dos Santos, Ângelo Miguel de Brito Santos, Letícia Samara Souza da Silva, Gabriela Cristina Baccaro, Jamylle Ravanne Campos Rocha, Carolinne Alves Oliveira Souza, Celine Mano Andrade, Letícia Diman Pereira, Lucas Diman Pereira, Mariana Mendonça de Albuquerque, Pâmela Gomes Santos
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
