Augusta Gama
Biographic Data
| ID | 4146666 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Augusta Gama |
| GIVEN NAMES | Augusta |
| FAMILY NAME | Gama |
| SIGNATURE | GAMA A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Research Centre for Anthropology and Health University of Coimbra Coimbra Portugal |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2143-8602 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 28 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 28 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1970 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Neighborhood Social Fragmentation and Excessive Body Weight Among Children—A View From a Portuguese Inner City
This cross‐sectional study examined the association between neighborhood social fragmentation and excessive body weight in childhood. The sample included 832 children aged 3–10 years living in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. Excessive body weight was classified using International Obesity Task Force sex‐ and age‐specific cut‐offs. Neighborhood social fragmentation was assessed using a composite index derived from 2021 Portuguese Census data …
Sociodemographic Characteristics Associated With Food‐Insecure Households With Preschool and School Children
OBJECTIVE: Following the last global economic crisis, Europe imposed austerity policies with significant influence on the households' food security. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of food-insecure households with children with normal body weight and overweight/obesity with other sociodemographic and family characteristics, following the last world financial crisis. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 4737 children…
Can the Urban Lifestyle Impact on Children BMI and Healthy Sleep
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to (i) compare children's lifestyle by urbanization level and (ii) examine the association between children's body mass index (BMI) and the risk of having unhealthy sleep (American Academy of Pediatrics). METHODS: Eight thousand one hundred fifty-nine children (4124 females) aged 6-9 years were observed and classified as urban or nonurban. Height and weight were measured, and the BMI was calculated. Sleep habits, sede…
Neighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation and Gender Disparities in Children with Excessive Body Weight in a Southern European Municipality
The findings indicate that neighborhood SE deprivation substantially increases the risk of excessive body weight, particularly among girls. Therefore, prevention and intervention strategies aimed at addressing excessive body weight gain should specifically target the populations and areas that are at a higher risk
Body size, form, composition, and a healthy lifestyle associates with health‐related quality of life among P ortuguese children
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe the relationship between body size, form, and composition, and children's lifestyle on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHODS: This cross-sectional study comprised 1333 children (9.05 ± 0.75 years; 683 females) living in mainland Portugal. Objective anthropometric measures were collected. Parents answered a standardized questionnaire related with children's lifestyle (e.g., sport participation, sc…
Association between rapid weight gain in early years and subsequent adiposity indices in Portuguese children aged 3 to 5 years
The present study aimed to evaluate the association of rapid weight gain (RWG) in early years with subsequent measures of adiposity in Portuguese children. We used data from a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of 5359 Portuguese children aged 3 to 5 years in 2009-10. Measures of adiposity indices included age-specific body mass index z-score (BAZ) and skinfold (suprailiac, subscapular and triceps) thickness. RWG was defined as the …
The Portuguese economic crisis is associated with socioeconomic and sex disparities on children's health‐related behaviors and obesity
OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to examine the relationship between the 2008 and 2015 economic crisis and children's physical activity (PA) outcomes, eating behaviors and obesity prevalence, while considering sex inequalities and familial socioeconomic status. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study, including data collected in 2016/2017 among 5134 children aged 6-11 years (mean age: 8.11 ± 1.24; 50.0% boys). Children's height, weight, and waist ci…
The Great Recession weighted on Portuguese children
OBJECTIVES: Further evidence on how the Great Recession was associated with childhood obesity is needed, particularly when the world is facing a new and severe economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores: (1) the direct association of the 2008's economic crisis with eating patterns and body mass index (BMI), among children, independently of their socioeconomic status (SES), and (2) the indirect association between the c…
Sleep duration, risk of obesity, and parental perceptions of residential neighborhood environments in 6–9 years‐old children
OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to analyze the association between healthy sleep duration of children and the parental perception of the social/built environment. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done and a sample of 8273 children (4183 females) aged 6-9 years was observed. Height (cm) and weight (Kg) were measured, and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Participants were classified as normal weight or overweight/obese. Sleep habit…
Socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Portuguese preschool‐aged children
OBJECTIVES: We evaluated, for the first time in Portugal, the prevalence of overweight and obesity according to parental education in a population of preschool-aged Portuguese children in 2009/2010 and 2016/2017. METHODS: Anthropometric data were collected in public and private preschools (n = 1996 in 2009/2010; n = 2077 in 2016/2017). Body mass index was calculated and weight status categories were based on the International Obesity Task Force c…
Household Food Security and Associated Factors among Portuguese Children
This study investigated the household food insecurity (HFI) among Portuguese children following the last world financial crisis. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 4737 Portuguese children (3-11 yrs). Socio-demographics, food insecurity, and household geographic location were assessed via questionnaire. Nutritional status was measured. Following the economic crisis, 14.2% of school children and 12.0% of preschool children experienced HFI. P…
Socioeconomic inequalities in children's health‐related quality of life according to weight status
OBJECTIVES: This study explores the association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Portuguese children according to their weight status. METHODS: A total of 1215 primary school-aged children (mean age 8.78 years) from three Portuguese districts (Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra) were assessed during 2016/2017. Father and mother's education (low, medium, high) and work status (employed, unemployed/retired) …
Screen media use by Portuguese children in 2009 and 2016
Screen-time was high among pre-school children, emphasising the need for earlier interventions, particularly among those from lower-SEP who had higher risk of exceeding the screen-time recommendations
The environment contribution to gender differences in childhood obesity and organized sports engagement
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze gender-specific associations between sports activity outside of school and obesity, observing to what extent the local built environment contributes to the patterns found. METHODS: A total of 2253 children aged 6.0-11.0 years were assessed: 49.3% girls and 50.7% boys. Children's weight and height were measured, age and sex-specific BMI cut-off points were used to define normal vs overweight/obesity. Children'…
Influence of parental perceived environment on physical activity, TV viewing, active play and Body Mass Index among Portuguese children
In conclusion, changes in the environment to targeting parental perception of neighborhood safety could have positive effects on the promotion of healthy weight and the adoption of a healthy lifestyle in school-aged children
Social inequalities in traditional and emerging screen devices among Portuguese children
Considering the negative health impacts of excessive screen time, recognizing subgroups at risk of excessive screen time and identifying how each device is used according to age is fundamental to enable appropriate future interventions. The screen time in children aged 3-10 years is longer than the recommended, particularly among boys and in those children from lower SEP. Parents and policymakers should have in mind that children spend most of th…
Children mental health after the 2008 global economic crisis
Excesso de peso ou obesidade e fatores do estilo de vida em idosos do concelho de Lisboa
Pretendeu caracterizar-se o estado nutricional de idosos por avaliação de indicadores antropométricos e conhecer o papel de fatores socioeconómicos e de estilos de vida no excesso de peso, incluindo obesidade (ExP+Ob), e obesidade abdominal. Desenvolveu- se um estudo transversal em instituições de Lisboa (Portugal) e a amostra estudada foi de 434 pessoas com idade igual ou superior a 60 anos. A maioria dos participantes foram mulheres (77,9%) e a…
The association of irregular sleep habits with the risk of being overweight/obese in a sample of Portuguese children aged 6–9 years
OBJECTIVES: The consequences of irregular sleep duration at younger ages remains uncertain, especially when we consider shorter and longer than recommended sleep durations. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the association between healthy sleep duration and risk of obesity in Portuguese children. METHODS: The sample for this cross-sectional study comprised 8273 children (4183 females) aged 6-9 years. Height and weight were measured an…
Waist‐to‐height ratio and its association with TV viewing in a sample of Portuguese children aged 7–9 years
INTRODUCTION: During the past decades, increased TV viewing and reduced physical activity (PA) levels may have contributed to the increased prevalence of pediatric obesity. This study aimed to analyze the association between TV viewing and central adiposity risk in Portuguese children. METHODS: The sample comprised 3987 children (1997 girls and 1990 boys) aged 7-9 years. Height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) were measured. Waist-to-height …
Parental perceptions of neighborhood environments, BMI, and active behaviors in girls aged 7–9 years
OBJECTIVES: Habitual physical activity (PA) may be influenced by a broad range of neighborhood, school, community, and family factors. Young people, particularly girls, tend to show lower habitual PA than boys and should be a target for prevention strategies aimed at healthy lifestyles. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine which perceived attributes about neighborhoods are related to active behaviors; (2) to analyze which perce…
The associations of SES, obesity, sport activity, and perceived neighborhood environments
OBJECTIVES: This study analyses the associations between children's obesity, sports activity (SA), and perceived environmental characteristics with the children's SES. METHODS: A sample of 1,885 Portuguese children, aged 3-10 years, living in Coimbra, Portugal, was observed. Weight and height were measured and obesity was defined by age-and sex-specific, BMI cut-off points. Questionnaires included variables on SA levels, SES and parental neighbor…
Perceptions of neighborhood environments and childhood obesity
The reproductive period and fertility in rural Portuguese women
Over time mean values of the reproductive events and the effective number of children decreased slowly and were likely influenced through cultural, behavioural and healthcare changes occurring in the region
Age at menarche in Portuguese rural women from Oleiros
The variation of age at menarche was related to changes in family behaviour towards children, reduction of age at child labour and increasing access to schools. The secular decrease in menarcheal age from 1910 to 1980 was related to living condition factors such as illiteracy, female life expectancy and infant mortality rates
Percepção parental do ambiente de residência e obesidade infantil no Distrito de Coimbra
A obesidade é um dos maiores problemas de saúde pública da actualidade. Para além dos factores individuais, os lugares em que se vive podem influenciar o comportamento e a saúde, providenciando ou não oportunidades de desenvolver uma vida saudável. O objectivo deste estudo é analisar a associação entre a percepção parental do ambiente local e o excesso de peso e obesidade em 1885 crianças com idades entre os 3 e os 10 anos residentes no distrito …
Some notes about nutrition at Praia, Cape Verde
The authors have studied the data relating to a 24 hours pilot inquiry carried out at 49 rural families from the Administrative Community of Praia, Santiago Island. Cape Verde. Their aims were: 1) to know about the consum-ed food; 2) to search out, in quality and quantity, the consumption in calories, proteins and other nutrients; 3) to define the level of satisfaction of the nutritional needs of the mentioned group. The discussion of the results…
A idade de menopausa em mulheres rurais portuguesas residentes no concelho de Oleiros
Age at menarche in Portuguese rural women from Oleiros
The variation of age at menarche was related to changes in family behaviour towards children, reduction of age at child labour and increasing access to schools. The secular decrease in menarcheal age from 1910 to 1980 was related to living condition factors such as illiteracy, female life expectancy and infant mortality rates
The reproductive period and fertility in rural Portuguese women
Over time mean values of the reproductive events and the effective number of children decreased slowly and were likely influenced through cultural, behavioural and healthcare changes occurring in the region
Perceptions of neighborhood environments and childhood obesity
The associations of SES, obesity, sport activity, and perceived neighborhood environments
OBJECTIVES: This study analyses the associations between children's obesity, sports activity (SA), and perceived environmental characteristics with the children's SES. METHODS: A sample of 1,885 Portuguese children, aged 3-10 years, living in Coimbra, Portugal, was observed. Weight and height were measured and obesity was defined by age-and sex-specific, BMI cut-off points. Questionnaires included variables on SA levels, SES and parental neighbor…
Parental perceptions of neighborhood environments, BMI, and active behaviors in girls aged 7–9 years
OBJECTIVES: Habitual physical activity (PA) may be influenced by a broad range of neighborhood, school, community, and family factors. Young people, particularly girls, tend to show lower habitual PA than boys and should be a target for prevention strategies aimed at healthy lifestyles. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine which perceived attributes about neighborhoods are related to active behaviors; (2) to analyze which perce…
Waist‐to‐height ratio and its association with TV viewing in a sample of Portuguese children aged 7–9 years
INTRODUCTION: During the past decades, increased TV viewing and reduced physical activity (PA) levels may have contributed to the increased prevalence of pediatric obesity. This study aimed to analyze the association between TV viewing and central adiposity risk in Portuguese children. METHODS: The sample comprised 3987 children (1997 girls and 1990 boys) aged 7-9 years. Height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) were measured. Waist-to-height …
The association of irregular sleep habits with the risk of being overweight/obese in a sample of Portuguese children aged 6–9 years
OBJECTIVES: The consequences of irregular sleep duration at younger ages remains uncertain, especially when we consider shorter and longer than recommended sleep durations. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the association between healthy sleep duration and risk of obesity in Portuguese children. METHODS: The sample for this cross-sectional study comprised 8273 children (4183 females) aged 6-9 years. Height and weight were measured an…
The environment contribution to gender differences in childhood obesity and organized sports engagement
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze gender-specific associations between sports activity outside of school and obesity, observing to what extent the local built environment contributes to the patterns found. METHODS: A total of 2253 children aged 6.0-11.0 years were assessed: 49.3% girls and 50.7% boys. Children's weight and height were measured, age and sex-specific BMI cut-off points were used to define normal vs overweight/obesity. Children'…
Influence of parental perceived environment on physical activity, TV viewing, active play and Body Mass Index among Portuguese children
In conclusion, changes in the environment to targeting parental perception of neighborhood safety could have positive effects on the promotion of healthy weight and the adoption of a healthy lifestyle in school-aged children
Social inequalities in traditional and emerging screen devices among Portuguese children
Considering the negative health impacts of excessive screen time, recognizing subgroups at risk of excessive screen time and identifying how each device is used according to age is fundamental to enable appropriate future interventions. The screen time in children aged 3-10 years is longer than the recommended, particularly among boys and in those children from lower SEP. Parents and policymakers should have in mind that children spend most of th…
Children mental health after the 2008 global economic crisis
Excesso de peso ou obesidade e fatores do estilo de vida em idosos do concelho de Lisboa
Pretendeu caracterizar-se o estado nutricional de idosos por avaliação de indicadores antropométricos e conhecer o papel de fatores socioeconómicos e de estilos de vida no excesso de peso, incluindo obesidade (ExP+Ob), e obesidade abdominal. Desenvolveu- se um estudo transversal em instituições de Lisboa (Portugal) e a amostra estudada foi de 434 pessoas com idade igual ou superior a 60 anos. A maioria dos participantes foram mulheres (77,9%) e a…
Socioeconomic inequalities in children's health‐related quality of life according to weight status
OBJECTIVES: This study explores the association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Portuguese children according to their weight status. METHODS: A total of 1215 primary school-aged children (mean age 8.78 years) from three Portuguese districts (Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra) were assessed during 2016/2017. Father and mother's education (low, medium, high) and work status (employed, unemployed/retired) …
Screen media use by Portuguese children in 2009 and 2016
Screen-time was high among pre-school children, emphasising the need for earlier interventions, particularly among those from lower-SEP who had higher risk of exceeding the screen-time recommendations
The Portuguese economic crisis is associated with socioeconomic and sex disparities on children's health‐related behaviors and obesity
OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to examine the relationship between the 2008 and 2015 economic crisis and children's physical activity (PA) outcomes, eating behaviors and obesity prevalence, while considering sex inequalities and familial socioeconomic status. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study, including data collected in 2016/2017 among 5134 children aged 6-11 years (mean age: 8.11 ± 1.24; 50.0% boys). Children's height, weight, and waist ci…
The Great Recession weighted on Portuguese children
OBJECTIVES: Further evidence on how the Great Recession was associated with childhood obesity is needed, particularly when the world is facing a new and severe economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores: (1) the direct association of the 2008's economic crisis with eating patterns and body mass index (BMI), among children, independently of their socioeconomic status (SES), and (2) the indirect association between the c…
Sleep duration, risk of obesity, and parental perceptions of residential neighborhood environments in 6–9 years‐old children
OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to analyze the association between healthy sleep duration of children and the parental perception of the social/built environment. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done and a sample of 8273 children (4183 females) aged 6-9 years was observed. Height (cm) and weight (Kg) were measured, and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Participants were classified as normal weight or overweight/obese. Sleep habit…
Socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Portuguese preschool‐aged children
OBJECTIVES: We evaluated, for the first time in Portugal, the prevalence of overweight and obesity according to parental education in a population of preschool-aged Portuguese children in 2009/2010 and 2016/2017. METHODS: Anthropometric data were collected in public and private preschools (n = 1996 in 2009/2010; n = 2077 in 2016/2017). Body mass index was calculated and weight status categories were based on the International Obesity Task Force c…
Household Food Security and Associated Factors among Portuguese Children
This study investigated the household food insecurity (HFI) among Portuguese children following the last world financial crisis. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 4737 Portuguese children (3-11 yrs). Socio-demographics, food insecurity, and household geographic location were assessed via questionnaire. Nutritional status was measured. Following the economic crisis, 14.2% of school children and 12.0% of preschool children experienced HFI. P…
Body size, form, composition, and a healthy lifestyle associates with health‐related quality of life among P ortuguese children
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe the relationship between body size, form, and composition, and children's lifestyle on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHODS: This cross-sectional study comprised 1333 children (9.05 ± 0.75 years; 683 females) living in mainland Portugal. Objective anthropometric measures were collected. Parents answered a standardized questionnaire related with children's lifestyle (e.g., sport participation, sc…
Association between rapid weight gain in early years and subsequent adiposity indices in Portuguese children aged 3 to 5 years
The present study aimed to evaluate the association of rapid weight gain (RWG) in early years with subsequent measures of adiposity in Portuguese children. We used data from a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of 5359 Portuguese children aged 3 to 5 years in 2009-10. Measures of adiposity indices included age-specific body mass index z-score (BAZ) and skinfold (suprailiac, subscapular and triceps) thickness. RWG was defined as the …
Sociodemographic Characteristics Associated With Food‐Insecure Households With Preschool and School Children
OBJECTIVE: Following the last global economic crisis, Europe imposed austerity policies with significant influence on the households' food security. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of food-insecure households with children with normal body weight and overweight/obesity with other sociodemographic and family characteristics, following the last world financial crisis. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 4737 children…
Medicine (25 works) · Demography (20 works) · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet (19 works) · Portuguese (15 works) · Psychology (15 works) · Body mass index (13 works) · Environmental health (13 works) · Obesity (13 works) · Gerontology (12 works) · Population (12 works)