Envelhecimento ativo e o recurso à medicina tradicional chinesa : entre a responsabilidade individual e os fatores sociais determinantes da saúde

Tese de doutoramento, Antropologia (Antropologia da Saúde), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, 2015

Cataloguing Kays: Body Image in the Catalogues of Kay & Co Ltd of Worcester, 1920 - 2000. JISC Final Report

Cataloguing Kays is a university-run project intended to create a community web-archive to celebrate the history and public memory of Kay & Co Ltd of Worcester, a noted mailorder catalogue company which was, until 2006, the largest employer in Worcester. The Kays Archive, housed at UoW, is one of the most comprehensive archive collections of 20th century mail-order catalogues in the UK and has a strong local elevance. The catalogues provide a window into over 100 years of body image, social history, consumable goods, fashion and design. The Project Team created www.WorldofKays.org, an online, fully-searchable archive containing 1500 digitised images from the catalogues, 1920-2000. The website is intended to form a seed bed for international research, focussing in particular on the representation of body image and the way the catalogues represent the developing tropes of consumer lifestyle and aspiration. The images are enhanced by blog postings from or film and audio interviews with local residents and former Kays staff members, who recall how the goods were selected and presented; as well as the impact the mail-order industry had on shaping 20th century lifestyle and consumption. These interviews and blogs have been sourced through the Cataloguing Kays team’s outreach activity in the local, academic and online communities. From the outset, we, the Cataloguing Kays team, engaged with online communities through social media sites, Facebook and Twitter, and through specialist blogs and online forums, inviting comment and contributions. Through events for the general public and a programme of targeted community outreach work with Kays Heritage Group and support groups for Worcestershire’s young and adult carers, we have also collected filmed and audio reminiscence material as well as community art and poetry content for the website. Our academic conference, the Catalogue of Dreams, showcased both the website and the physical archive to the wider academic, cultural and heritage sectors, provoking lively debateand much interest from international scholars.

Identification of Potential Sources of Airborne Olea Pollen in the Southwest Iberian Peninsula

This study aims to determine the potential origin of Olea pollen recorded in Badajoz in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during 2009–2011. This was achieved using a combination of daily average and diurnal (hourly) airborne Olea pollen counts recorded at Badajoz (south-western Spain) and Évora (south-eastern Portugal), an inventory of olive groves in the studied area and air mass trajectory calculations computed using the HYSPLIT model. Examining olive pollen episodes at Badajoz that had distinctly different diurnal cycles in olive pollen in relation to the mean, allowed us to identify three different scenarios where olive pollen can be transported to the city from either distant or nearby sources during conditions with slow air mass movements. Back trajectory analysis showed that olive pollen can be transported to Badajoz from the West on prevailing winds, either directly or on slow moving air masses, and from high densities of olive groves situated to the Southeast (e.g. Andalucía). Regional scale transport of olive pollen can result in increased nighttime concentrations of this important aeroallergen. This could be particularly important in Mediterranean countries where people can be outdoors during this time due to climate and lifestyle. Such studies that examine sources and the atmospheric transport of pollen are valuable for allergy sufferers and health care professionals because the information can be incorporated into forecasts, the outputs of which are used for avoiding exposure to aeroallergens and planning medication. The results of studies of this nature can also be used for examining gene flow in this important agricultural crop.

In Protection of Whose “Wellbeing”? Considerations of “Clauses and A/Effects” in Athlete Contracts

Contractual agreements have become an accepted part of participation processes for athletes in a variety of sport contexts. Closer readings of these contracts,however, pose several questions regarding organizational intentions and motivations,the conceptualization of athletes as “workers,” and representation parity. In this article, we draw on four types of athlete contractual documents from both select international “amateur” and “professional” sport settings. Our key considerations include athletes’ ownership over their image and identities; medical and health disclosures; lifestyle, behavioral and body choices, and restrictions beyond sport; adherence to organizational philosophy and commitments; and social media and publicity constraints. Our exegesis here encourages sport researchers to deliberate whose “wellbeing” matters most when signing that seductive dotted line.

Translating proteomics into environmental health : biomarkers discovery for tobacco smoke-induced biological damage

Tese de doutoramento, Biologia (Biologia Molecular), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2015

e-poltergeist

E-poltergeist takes over the user’s internet browser, automatically initiating Web searches without their permission. Web-based artwork which explores issues of user control when confronted with complex technological systems, questioning the limits of digital interactive arts as consensual reciprocal systems. e-poltergeist was a major web commission that marked an early stage of research in a larger enquiry by Craighead and Thomson into the relationship between live virtual data, global communications networks and instruction-based art, exploring how such systems can be re-contextualised within gallery environments. e-poltergeist presented the 'viewer' with a singular narrative by using live internet search-engine data that aimed to create a perpetual and virtually unstoppable cycle of search engine results, banner ads and moving windows as an interruption into the normal use of an internet browser. The work also addressed the ‘de-personalisation’ of internet use by sending a series of messages from the live search engine data that seemed to address the user directly: 'Is anyone there?'; 'Can anyone hear me?', 'Please help me!'; 'Nobody cares!' e-poltergeist makes a significant contribution to the taxonomy of new media art by dealing with the way that new media art can re-address notions of existing traditions in art such as appropriation and manipulation, instruction-based art and conceptual art. e-poltergeist was commissioned ($12,000) for 010101: Art in Technological Times, a landmark international exhibition presented by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which bought together leading international practitioners working with emergent technologies, including Tatsuo Miyajima, Janet Cardiff, Brian Eno. Peer recognition of the project in the form of reviews include: Curating New Media. Gateshead: Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Cook, Sarah, Beryl Graham and Sarah Martin ISBN: 1093655064; The Wire; http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2000/12/40464 (review by Reena Jana); Leonardo (review Barbara Lee Williams and Sonya Rapoport) http://www.leonardo.info/reviews/feb2001/ex_010101_willrapop.html All the work is developed jointly and equally between Craighead and her collaborator, Jon Thomson, Slade School of Fine Art.

Prediction of breast cancer risk based on profiling with common genetic variants

BACKGROUND: Data for multiple common susceptibility alleles for breast cancer may be combined to identify women at different levels of breast cancer risk. Such stratification could guide preventive and screening strategies. However, empirical evidence for genetic risk stratification is lacking. METHODS: We investigated the value of using 77 breast cancer-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for risk stratification, in a study of 33 673 breast cancer cases and 33 381 control women of European origin. We tested all possible pair-wise multiplicative interactions and constructed a 77-SNP polygenic risk score (PRS) for breast cancer overall and by estrogen receptor (ER) status. Absolute risks of breast cancer by PRS were derived from relative risk estimates and UK incidence and mortality rates. RESULTS: There was no strong evidence for departure from a multiplicative model for any SNP pair. Women in the highest 1% of the PRS had a three-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer compared with women in the middle quintile (odds ratio [OR] = 3.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.95 to 3.83). The ORs for ER-positive and ER-negative disease were 3.73 (95% CI = 3.24 to 4.30) and 2.80 (95% CI = 2.26 to 3.46), respectively. Lifetime risk of breast cancer for women in the lowest and highest quintiles of the PRS were 5.2% and 16.6% for a woman without family history, and 8.6% and 24.4% for a woman with a first-degree family history of breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The PRS stratifies breast cancer risk in women both with and without a family history of breast cancer. The observed level of risk discrimination could inform targeted screening and prevention strategies. Further discrimination may be achievable through combining the PRS with lifestyle/environmental factors, although these were not considered in this report.

Migration, Space and Transnational Identities: The British in South Africa

This timely text explores the lives, histories and identities of white British-born immigrants in South Africa, twenty years after the post-apartheid Government took office. Drawing on over sixty in depth biographical interviews and ethnographic work in Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town, Daniel Conway and Pauline Leonard analyse how British immigrants' relate to, participate in and embody South Africa's complex racial and political history. Through their everyday lives, political and social attitudes, relationships with the places and spaces of South Africa, as well as their expectations of the future, the complexities of their transnational, raced and classed identities and senses of belonging are revealed. Migration, Space and Transnational Identities makes an important contribution to sociological, geographical, political and anthropological debates on transnational migration, whiteness, Britishness and lifestyle, tourism and labour migration.

Using a whole person approach to support people with cancer: a longitudinal, mixed methods service evaluation

Introduction: Improved models of care are needed to meet all the support needs of people with cancer, which encompass psychological, emotional, physical, spiritual, sexual, occupational, social and existential needs. The aim of this paper is to (1) evaluate short and long-term impacts of using a whole person approach to support people with cancer on the Living Well with the Impact of Cancer Course (LWC); (2) use these data to inform strategic decisions about future service provision at Penny Brohn UK. Methods: Longitudinal mixed-methods service evaluation (n=135). Data collected included health related quality of life (HRQoL) (FACIT-SpEx); Concerns (types and severity - MYCaW); lifestyle behaviour (bespoke questionnaire) and participants’ experiences over 12 months post course. Results: Statistically and clinically significant improvements from baseline - 12 months in severity of MYCaW Concerns (n=64; p<0.000) and mean total HRQoL (n=66; p<0.000). The majority of MYCaW concerns were ‘psychological and emotional’ and about participants’ wellbeing. Spiritual, emotional and functional wellbeing contributed most to HRQoL improvements at 12 months. Barriers to maintaining healthy lifestyle changes included lack of support from family and friends, time constraints, and returning to work. 3-6 months post-course was identified as the time when more support was most likely to be needed. Conclusions: Using a whole person approach for the LWC enabled the needs of participants to be met, and statistically and clinically significant improvements in HRQoL and MYCaW Concerns were reported. Qualitative data analysis explored how experiencing whole person support enabled participants to make and sustain healthy lifestyle changes associated with improved survivorship. Barriers experienced to making health behaviour change were also identified. These data then informed wider and more person-centred clinical provision to increase the maintenance of positive long-term behaviour changes. Comparison of whole person approaches to cancer treatment and support and standard care are now urgently needed.

Cadherin-5: a biomarker for metastatic breast cancer with optimum efficacy in oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancers with vascular invasion

Background: A glycoproteomic study has previously shown cadherin-5 (CDH5) to be a serological marker of metastatic breast cancer when both protein levels and glycosylation status were assessed. In this study we aimed to further validate the utility of CDH5 as a biomarker for breast cancer progression. Methods: A nested case–control study of serum samples from breast cancer patients, of which n=52 had developed a distant metastatic recurrence within 5 years post-diagnosis and n=60 had remained recurrence-free. ELISAs were used to quantify patient serum CDH5 levels and assess glycosylation by Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA) binding. Clinicopathological, treatment and lifestyle factors associated with metastasis and elevated biomarker levels were identified. Results: Elevated CDH5 levels (P=0.028) and ratios of CDH5:HPA binding (P=0.007) distinguished patients with metastatic disease from those that remained metastasis-free. Multivariate analysis showed that the association between CDH5:HPA ratio and the formation of distant metastases was driven by patients with oestrogen receptor (ER+) positive cancer with vascular invasion (VI+). Conclusions: CDH5 levels and the CDH5 glycosylation represent biomarker tests that distinguish patients with metastatic breast cancer from those that remain metastasis-free. The test reached optimal sensitivity and specificity in ER-positive cancers with vascular invasion.

Occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in hospitality venues: are genetic- or proteomics-based biomarkers predictive of respiratory diseases?

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is recognized as an occupational hazard in the hospitality industry. Although Portuguese legislation banned smoking in most indoor public spaces, it is still allowed in some restaurants/bars, representing a potential risk to the workers’ health, particularly for chronic respiratory diseases. The aims of this work were to characterize biomarkers of early genetic effects and to disclose proteomic signatures associated to occupational exposure to ETS and with potential to predict respiratory diseases development. A detailed lifestyle survey and clinical evaluation (including spirometry) were performed in 81 workers from Lisbon restaurants. ETS exposure was assessed through the level of PM 2.5 in indoor air and the urinary level of cotinine. The plasma samples were immunodepleted and analysed by 2D-SDSPAGE followed by in-gel digestion and LC-MS/MS. DNA lesions and chromosome damage were analysed innlymphocytes and in exfoliated buccal cells from 19 cigarette smokers, 29 involuntary smokers, and 33 non-smokers not exposed to tobacco smoke. Also, the DNA repair capacity was evaluated using an ex vivo challenge comet assay with an alkylating agent (EMS). All workers were considered healthy and recorded normal lung function. Interestingly, following 2D-DIGE-MS (MALDI-TOF/TOF), 61 plasma proteins were found differentially expressed in ETS-exposed subjects, including 38 involved in metabolism, acute-phase respiratory inflammation, and immune or vascular functions. On the other hand, the involuntary smokers showed neither an increased level of DNA/chromosome damage on lymphocytes nor an increased number of micronuclei in buccal cells, when compared to non-exposed non-smokers. Noteworthy, lymphocytes challenge with EMS resulted in a significantly lower level of DNA breaks in ETS-exposed as compared to non-exposed workers (P<0.0001) suggestive of an adaptive response elicited by the previous exposure to low levels of ETS. Overall, changes in proteome may be promising early biomarkers of exposure to ETS. Likewise, alterations of the DNA repair competence observed upon ETS exposure deserves to be further understood. Work supported by Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, ACSS and FCT/Polyannual Funding Program.

Feasibility study on multifunctional artificial reefs for the Azores

Tese de Doutoramento, Geografia (Ordenamento do Território), 25 de Novembro de 2013, Universidade dos Açores.

Diversity and characterisation of coagulasenegative staphylococci isolated from healthy individuals in Portugal

In the past few years the interest in coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) has significantly increased in human medicine. CoNS are common commensal colonisers of the human skin, although now also recognised as major nosocomial pathogens. Over the last decades, several studies have been carried out in order to understand the pathogenicity mechanisms of CoNS. The well known determinants in the pathogenesis of CoNS infections are their ability to form biofilms and an exceptional resistance to several antibiotics. Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies regarding the commensal lifestyle of these microorganisms. Additionally, it is now hypothesised that commensal bacteria might be a reservoir of pathogenic determinants. Therefore, the work described throughout this thesis was aimed to perform a phenotypic and genotypic characterisation of different CoNS species isolated from healthy Portuguese individuals. A total of 61 CoNS isolates, comprising 7 different species, were obtained and characterised at the level of biofilm formation and antibiotic susceptibility profiles. According to the results, biofilm formation ability and presence of biofilm-associated genes were commonly found features, highlighting their pivotal role in the colonising lifestyle of CoNS. This study also addressed the correlation between phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of biofilm formation, corroborating and raising questions about the importance of some genes in this process. Moreover, it was observed a great proportion of isolates with decreased susceptibility and multiple resistances to some important antibiotics. A significant association between antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation was also demonstrated, and some hypotheses about the nature of such association were provided. Lastly, the expression patterns of two biofilm-associated genes at two distinct biofilm developmental stages were determined, confirming their importance in the accumulative stage of biofilm formation. Overall, the results presented in this thesis indicate that staphylococcal skin flora might be an important reservoir of potentially pathogenic bacteria and, simultaneously, bring to light new perceptions about the molecular basis of staphylococcal biofilm formation, and the nature of the association between antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation.

Efeitos de um programa de exercícios específico em indivíduos integrados num programa de reabilitação cardiovascular no domicílio na tolerância ao exercício

Introdução: As doenças cardiovasculares são a principal causa de morte na Europa e o sedentarismo é um dos seus principais fatores de risco. Os programas de reabilitação cardiovascular (RCV) no domicílio parecem ser eficazes na tolerância ao exercício. No entanto, torna-se difícil reproduzir um protocolo de exercícios no domicílio, por se tratar de estudos pouco específicos. Objetivo: Avaliar os efeitos de um programa de exercícios específico realizado no domicílio, na tolerância ao exercício em pacientes integrados num programa RCV. Metodologia: Estudo quase experimental composto por 20 indivíduos com pelo menos um ano de enfarte agudo do miocárdio, distribuídos aleatoriamente em dois grupos: grupo experimental (GE) e grupo de controlo (GC), ambos com 10 indivíduos. O programa de RCV no domicílio (constituído por 10 exercícios) teve a duração de 8 semanas, com uma frequência de 3 vezes por semana. Avaliou-se a frequência cardíaca (FC), tensão arterial e duplo produto basais e máximos; FC de recuperação; equivalentes metabólicos (METs); velocidade; inclinação; tempo de prova e de recuperação; índice cifótico; equilíbrio; e tempo em atividade moderada a vigorosa. Resultados: Ao fim de 8 semanas de exercício o GE aumentou significativamente os MET’s (p=0,001), tensão arterial sistólica máxima (p<0,001), duplo produto máximo (p<0,001) e tempo de prova (p=0,037) e diminuiu significativamente o tempo de recuperação (p<0,001), quando comparado com o GC. Conclusão: O programa de exercícios no domicílio promoveu uma melhoria na tolerância ao exercício e parece ter melhorado o equilíbrio, para a amostra em estudo.

Prevalência de obesidade infanto-juvenil : associação com os hábitos alimentares, actividade física e comportamentos sedentários dos adolescentes escolarizados de Portugal Conti

RESUMO Nos países industrializados observam-se elevadas prevalências de pré- obesidade e obesidade em jovens e adolescentes, com consequências negativas para a saúde. A obesidade é apontada como o distúrbio nutricional mais frequente em crianças e adolescentes nos países desenvolvidos e é resultado da acumulação excessiva ou anormal de gordura no tecido adiposo. Segundo a I.O.T.F. considera- se que uma criança tem pré-obesidade quando o seu percentil de I.M.C. está entre o p88 e p99 para as raparigas e entre o p90 e o p99 para os rapazes. Considerase que tem obesidade quando o percentil de I.M.C. é superior ao p99, para ambos os sexos. A prevalência de pré-obesidade e obesidade em crianças e adolescentes tem vindo a aumentar a nível mundial a um ritmo alarmante, sobretudo nos países desenvolvidos e em alguns segmentos de países em desenvolvimento. Estudos demonstram que a obesidade em crianças e adolescentes se encontra fortemente correlacionada com o aumento da morbilidade e mortalidade, reflectindo-se numa variedade de situações patológicas com risco de persistência no adulto. Dada a sua extrema importância em termos de Saúde Pública, as tendências para a pré- obesidade e obesidade em crianças e adolescentes devem ser monitorizadas com especial atenção. Os hábitos alimentares e o gasto energético são factores que influenciam a obesidade e o seu controlo. Há estudos que concluem que existe uma associação directa entre estes factos e a presença de obesidade e outros apresentam conclusões contrárias. Pretendeu-se determinar a prevalência de excesso de peso (pré-obesidade e obesidade) infantojuvenil em Portugal e associá-la com os hábitos alimentares, actividade física e comportamentos sedentários dos adolescentes. A população em estudo é todos os adolescentes, de ambos os sexos, que frequentam o ensino básico (2º e 3º ciclos) e secundário oficial de Portugal Continental (n=5708). Todos os elementos em estudos foram avaliados antropometricamente (peso e altura) e responderam a um questionário de hábitos alimentares e frequência alimentar, actividade física e comportamentos sedentários. Como resultados do estudo verificou-se que a prevalência de pré- obesidade infanto-juvenil em Portugal é de 22,6% e a prevalência de obesidade de 7,8%. Quer a obesidade quer a pré-obesidade apresentam indicadores superiores nos rapazes (p=0,01) e nos adolescentes mais jovens (p=0,00). Em relação aos hábitos alimentares estudados é de referir que a frequência de consumo de refeições fora de casa é muito similar entre o grupo normoponderal e o grupo com excesso de peso sendo a refeição da ceia consumida por um número muito superior de adolescentes normoponderais comparativamente com os que apresentam excesso de peso (p=0,01). Em relação à ingestão de determinados alimentos ou grupos alimentícios, verificou-se que, regra geral, o consumo de alimentos de características nutricionais de baixa qualidade (gordura saturada, sal e açucares simples) era superior no grupo normoponderal comparativamente ao grupo com excesso de peso (refrigerantes, snacks, fast-food, cereais açucarados, sobremesas doces) (p<0,05). Em relação à actividade física, o número de horas semanais de actividade física diminui do grupo normoponderal para o grupo com excesso de peso. Dentro do grupo com excesso de peso, os obesos apresentam ainda uma média inferior em relação aos pré-obesos. Poderemos afirmar que quanto maior o índice de actividade física menor o percentil de I.M.C., mostrando-se assim a actividade física como um factor protector de um peso saudável (p<0,05). Quando solicitado que caracterizassem o estilo de vida e a habilidade desportiva, verificou-se que nos grupos com excesso de peso se caracterizavam em indicadores mais baixos do que os normoponderais (p<0,05). No que diz respeito aos comportamentos sedentários, verifica-se que são mais prevalentes nos grupos com excesso de peso do que no grupo normoponderal (p<0,05). Em conclusão, os resultados da prevalência de obesidade obtidos assemelham-se aos resultados obtidos noutros estudos, constituindo um dado revelador de uma situação bastante preocupante em termos de Saúde Pública. Em relação aos hábitos alimentares as diferenças não são significativas entre os diferentes grupos (normoponderal, pré-obesidade e obesidade). A actividade física apresentou-se como um factor protector do aumento de peso com uma associação directa com o estado nutricional (I.M.C.). Verificou-se que os adolescentes em Portugal que apresentavam indicadores mais elevados de actividade física eram aqueles que se encontravam com peso normal. Os comportamentos sedentários apresentaram-se como um factor propício ao desenvolvimento do excesso de peso estando directamente relacionados com o percentil de I.M.C. Os comportamentos sedentários mais frequentes são o visionamento televisivo e o computador/internet. Assim, poder-se-á fundamentar a necessidade de medidas interventivas a este nível com o intuito de controlar os indicadores encontrados. ABSTRACT In the industrialized countries high prevalences of pre-obesity and obesity are observed in youngsters and adolescents, with negative health consequences. Obesity is pointed as the most frequent nutritional disturbance in children and adolescents in developed countries and results from the excessive or abnormal accumulation of fat in the adipose tissue. According to the IOTF a child is pre-obese when the BMI percentile is between p88 and p99 for girls and between p90 and p99 for boys. Obesity is considered when the BMI percentile is above p99 for both sexes. The prevalence of pre-obesity and obesity in children and adolescents has been rising alarmingly worldwide, especially in developed countries and some segments of developing countries. Studies indicate that obesity in children and adolescents is strongly associated with increased morbidity and mortality resulting in a variety of pathological situations with risk of persistence in adulthood. Given its major Public Health importance, pre-obesity and obesity trends in children and adolescents should be monitored with special attention. Eating habits and energy expenditure are factors that influence obesity and its control. Some studies conclude that there is a direct association between these factors and the presence of obesity and others present opposite conclusions. It was intended to determine the prevalence of overweight (pre-obesity and obesity) in children and youth in Portugal and to associate it with eating habits, physical activity and sedentary behaviors of adolescents. The population in study is constituted by all adolescents of both sexes that attend basic (2nd and 3rd grade) and secondary official education of continental Portugal (n=5708). All participants in study were anthropometrically evaluated (weight and height) and answered a questionnaire of eating habits and food frequency, physical activity and sedentary behaviors. The study results indicate a prevalence of pre-obesity in children and youth in Portugal of 22.6% and a prevalence of obesity of 7.8%. Both obesity and pre-obesity present higher indicators in boys (p=0.01) and younger adolescents (p=0.00). In relation to the studied eating habits it should be noted that the frequency of consumption of meals away from home is very similar between the normal weight group and the overweight group. Moreover, the supper meal is consumed by a much larger number of normal weight adolescents as compared to the ones with overweight (p=0.01). Regarding the intake of certain foods or food groups, it was found that, in general, the consumption of foods with characteristics of low nutritional quality (saturated fat, salt and simple sugars) was higher in the normoponderal group compared with the overweight group (soft drinks, snacks, fast-food, sugary cereals, desserts) (p<0.05). In respect to physical activity, the number of weekly hours of physical activity decreases from the normoponderal group to the group with overweight. Within the group with overweight, obese subjects also present a lower average than pre-obese subjects. As we can affirm that the higher the physical activity index the lower the BMI percentile, physical activity appears as a protective factor for a healthy weight (p<0.05). When they were asked to characterize their lifestyle and sports ability, it was found that overweight groups characterized themselves with lower indicators than the normoponderal group (p<0.05). Regarding sedentary behaviors, it appears that they were more prevalent in groups with overweight than in the normoponderal group (p<0.05). In conclusion, the results of the obesity prevalence attained are similar to the results obtained in other studies, revealing a very worrying situation in terms of Public Health. In relation to the eating habits there were no significant differences between the groups (normoponderal, pre-obesity and obesity). Physical activity appears as a protective factor from weight gain with a direct association with nutritional status (BMI). It was found that young people in Portugal who had the highest indicators of physical activity were those who presented normal weight. The sedentary behaviors were presented as a factor conducive to the development of overweight being directly related to the BMI percentile. The most frequent sedentary behaviors were television viewing and computer/internet