Les traits psychologiques individuels peuvent faciliter ou nuire au contrôle alimentaire et pondéral non seulement chez les obèses, mais également dans l’ensemble de la population. La littérature s’est jusqu’à présent principalement focalisée sur les traits négatifs tels que la restriction ou l’alimentation liée aux émotions négatives. A l’inverse, des traits positifs (ou adaptatifs) tels que l’alimentation intuitive et la pleine conscience pourraient favoriser une alimentation saine et un maintien du poids. L'alimentation intuitive est caractérisée par une consommation motivée par les signaux physiologiques de faim et de satiété plutôt qu’en réponse aux stimuli externes et émotionnels, couplée à une faible préoccupation vis-à-vis de l’alimentation. La pleine conscience est définie par une prise de conscience de l’instant présent sans jugement de valeur. L’objectif principal de ce travail était de mesurer l’alimentation liée aux émotions, l’alimentation intuitive et la pleine conscience dans un large échantillon d’adultes en population générale issus de la cohorte NutriNet-Santé, et d’évaluer leur association avec la consommation alimentaire et le statut pondéral de façon transversale. Chez les femmes, une forte alimentation liée aux émotions était associée à une plus forte consommation d’aliments riches en énergie, en particulier les aliments gras et sucrés. La présence de symptômes dépressifs exacerbait cette association. Pour les hommes, cette relation était mise en évidence seulement chez ceux sans symptômes dépressifs. La version traduite et validée d’un questionnaire d’alimentation intuitive a montré des caractéristiques psychométriques satisfaisantes. Des scores plus élevés aux dimensions « manger pour des raisons physiques plutôt qu’émotionnelles » et « recourir à ses signaux de faim et de satiété» étaient associés à des choix alimentaires bénéfiques pour la santé tandis que des scores plus élevés à la dimension « permission inconditionnelle de manger » étaient associés à une alimentation moins saine. Par ailleurs, l’alimentation intuitive et ses trois dimensions étaient inversement associées au statut pondéral. La disposition de pleine conscience était inversement associée au surpoids et à l’obésité chez les femmes, et à l’obésité chez les hommes. De plus, dans l’ensemble, toutes les dimensions de la pleine conscience (« observation », « description », « agir en pleine conscience », « non-jugement » et « non-réactivité ») étaient inversement associées au statut pondéral chez les femmes tandis que chez les hommes, seules les dimensions « observation » et non-réactivité » l’étaient. De façon cohérente, la pratique de techniques psycho-physiques pouvant développer la pleine conscience était inversement associée au statut pondéral. Ces résultats illustrent l’importance des déterminants psychologiques sur le comportement alimentaire et le statut pondéral. Plus particulièrement, ils montrent l’importance de considérer des conduites positives, et pas uniquement des conduites à risque, à la fois en prévention primaire et secondaire de l’obésité. / Individual psychological traits can positively or adversely affect eating and weight control notonly among obese individuals, but also in the whole population. So far, the literature hasmainly focused on negative traits such as restrained or emotional eating. Yet, positive (oradaptive) traits such as intuitive eating and mindfulness might predispose people to eat morehealthfully and maintain weight. Intuitive eating is defined as generally eating in response tophysiological hunger and satiety signals, and not in response to external and/or emotionalcues, together with low overall preoccupation with food. Mindfulness is defined as nonjudgmentalawareness of the present moment.Our main objective was to quantify emotional eating, intuitive eating and mindfulness in alarge sample of adults from the general population (the NutriNet-Santé cohort) and to assesswhether they were cross-sectionally associated with food intake and weight status.In women, higher emotional eating was associated with higher consumption of energy densesnack foods, and in particular sweet-and-fatty foods. The presence of depressive symptomsexacerbated this association. In men, this association was found in those without depressivesymptoms only.We translated and validated an existing intuitive eating questionnaire into French, and thistranslated version demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties.Higher scores on the dimensions “eating for physical rather than emotional reasons” and“reliance on hunger and satiety cues” were associated with healthier food choices whilehigher scores on the dimension “unconditional permission to eat” were associated with a lesshealthy diet. However, overall intuitive eating and its three dimensions were all inverselyassociated with weight status.Dispositional mindfulness was inversely associated with overweight and obesity in womenand with obesity in men. In addition, overall, all dimensions of mindfulness (“observing”,“describing”, “acting with awareness”, “non-judging” and “non-reactivity”) were inverselyassociated with weight status in women, while only the “observing” and “non-reactivity”dimensions were inversely associated with weight status in men. In line with this, mind-bodypractices, which can help to develop mindfulness, were also inversely associated with weightstatus.These results illustrate the importance of psychological determinants of dietary behavior andweight status. In particular, our results underline the value of considering positive behaviors,and not only behaviors at risk, for both primary and secondary prevention of obesity.

O aumento da prevalência do sobrepeso e da obesidade tem se revelado um problema de saúde pública mundial. O desenvolvimento da obesidade envolve múltiplos fatores, como padrão de atividade física, padrão de alimentação, variáveis sociais e ambientais, fatores biológicos e genéticos. O objetivo deste estudo, que está aninhado no Projeto de Pesquisa OBEDIARP, foi avaliar a prevalência do sobrepeso e da obesidade na população adulta residente no município de Ribeirão Preto, estado de São Paulo, no ano de 2006 e estimá-la segundo variáveis sóciodemográficas, padrão de atividade física, padrão alimentar e saúde auto-referida. O estudo teve um delineamento transversal e foi desenvolvido no período de março de 2006 a junho de 2009. O processo de amostragem foi desenvolvido em três estágios, sendo o setor censitário a unidade primária de amostragem. Utilizou-se amostra ponderada de 2197 participantes. As variáveis do estudo foram: estado nutricional, sexo, idade, nível educacional, padrão de atividade física, tempo sentado, escores de freqüência de consumo de alimentos e auto-percepção do estado de saúde. A coleta dos dados ocorreu mediante a aplicação de entrevistas estruturadas que foram aplicadas nos domicílios dos elegíveis por uma equipe de entrevistadores previamente treinada. A taxa de resposta foi de 78%. Médias e proporções foram estimadas por pontos e por intervalos, com 95% de confiança. Para a avaliação de associações globais utilizou-se a estatística \"F\", adotando-se nível de significância de 5%. Para avaliar as relações entre o Índice de Massa Corporal e variáveis relacionadas ao padrão alimentar, ao gasto metabólico em atividade física e ao tempo sentado, utilizou-se modelo de regressão linear, adotando-se nível de significância de 5%. Todas as análises foram desenvolvidas no software STATA para Windows, versão 8.2. As estimativas levaram em consideração o efeito de desenho. Do total dos participantes do estudo 69.96% eram do sexo feminino e 30.04% do sexo masculino, com média de idade de 48.52 anos. A prevalência do excesso de peso encontrada foi de 64.65%, sendo que 39,23% foram classificados como pré-obesos e 25.42% como obesos. Os indivíduos classificados como insuficientemente ativos foram 66.29% da amostra. As variáveis sexo, faixa etária, escolaridade, estado de saúde auto-referida e estado de saúde comparado aos amigos apresentaram associação com o estado nutricional. Foi possível identificar que o consumo de alimentos de alta densidade energética e a média diária de tempo sentado estiveram positivamente associados ao índice de massa corporal, embora apenas em alguns estratos das variáveis sóciodemográficas. Conclui-se que a elevada prevalência de excesso de peso e de inatividade física na população adulta de Ribeirão Preto, apontam para a necessidade de implementação de medidas específicas de promoção e prevenção em saúde. / The increased prevalence of overweight and obesity has revealed to be a global public health problem. The development of obesity involves multiple factors, such as physical activity pattern, eating pattern, social and environmental variables, biological and genetic factors This study, part of the OBEDIARP Research Project, aimed to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the adult population living in Ribeirão Preto, a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil in 2006 and to estimate it according to socio-demographic variables, physical activity pattern, eating pattern and self-referred health. The research, with a cross-sectional design, was developed between March 2006 and June 2009. The sampling process was developed in three stages, with the census sector serving as the primary sampling unit. A weighted sample of 2197 participants was used. The study variables were: nutritional state, gender, age, education level, physical activity pattern, sitting time, food consumption frequency scores and self-perception of health state. Data were collected through structured interviews, held at the eligible participants\' homes by a previously trained team of interviewers. The response rate was 78%. Means and proportions were estimated by points and intervals, at a 95% confidence level. \"F\" statistics were used to assess global associations, adopting a 5% significance level. To assess the relations between Body Mass Index and food pattern-related variables, metabolic rate in physical activity and sitting time, a linear regression model was used, adopting a 5% significance level. All analyses were developed in STATA for Windows software, version 8.2. The effect of design was taken into account in all estimates. Of all study participants, 69.96% were women and 30.04% men, with a mean age of 48.52 years. The prevalence rate of overweight was 64.65%, with 39.23% classified as pre-obese and 25.42% as obese. Individuals classified as insufficiently active corresponded to 66.29% of the sample. The variables gender, age range, education level, self-referred health state and health state compared to friends were associated with the nutritional state. It could be identified that consumption of high-energy foods and mean daily sitting time were positively associated with the body mass index, although in some socio-demographic layers only. It is concluded that the high prevalence of overweight and physical inactivity in the adult population of Ribeirão Preto point towards the need for specific health promotion and prevention measures.

Aims: To identify factors, which were related to being smoke-free and snus-free, respectively, among adolescents in relation to adolescents who were smoking and/or using snus, and de-termine if there were any sex differences. Me- thods: A questionnaire study was performed among students in year two in upper secondary schools (17-years-old) in southern Sweden in 2009. More than 2200 students completed the questionnaire regarding health and living habits anonymously. The variables were tested by χ²-test, before selection into the logistic model. Because of the salutogenic approach in the study, the results of the logistic regression analyses were expressed as Positive Odds Ratio (POR). Results: The prevalence of being smoke- free was 75.6 percent for girls and 70.2 percent for boys, whilst the prevalence of being snus- free was 95.1 percent for girls and 70.2 percent for boys. Having a tobacco-free best friend was the most important factor that correlated with being smoke- and snus-free as an adolescent, for both boys and girls. Good living habits, such as drinking less alcohol, were also central to being smoke-free and snus-free. Conclusions: The results show that a tobacco-free environ-ment has a great influence on whether or not adolescents stay tobacco-free. As the environ-ment has a big impact, the school has a big challenge to work with the school environment and policies but also with family responsibility, norms and attitudes to tobacco.

No description available.

This study investigates investment behavior of Taiwan market participants from different aspects of measure, especially with regard to their tendency to forming herding behavior. By applying concepts of Cross-Sectional Absolute Dispersions (CSAD), we find significant evidence of herding behavior in the Taiwan market. Evidences suggest that the herding formation in Taiwan market is strongly influenced by the US market and we should not ignore the impact of globalization. With regard to the issue of financial crises, we find no herding behavior during the 1998 Asian Crisis but partial evidence shows that herding activities may be influenced by crisis during the 2000 Internet Bubble and 2008 Sub-prime Crisis in the Taiwan market. Moreover, all empirical results are reexamined using Quantile analysis to avoid potential bias in estimations. Finally, results from applying herding behavior in portfolio management indicate that investing in stocks of lower liquidity and volatility can reduce the risk of portfolios.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Objective: Majority of studies to date have focused on injury profiles and types of injuries in rugby, without looking at the risk factors associated and the management of these injuries. It was thus the aim of this study to determine the risk factors and management of rugby injuries in the greater Durban area. Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional based study, using a self-administered questionnaire, developed specifically for this research utilizing a focus group and pilot study. The questionnaire details a patient injury history, rugby history, resources, management, coaching and training parameters. Letters of informed consent and the questionnaire were distributed to 300 players / coaches for completion and data was analysed using Pearson’s correlation and t-tests. Results: A response rate of 70% (n=210) was achieved. Selected risk factors were found to be significantly related to current and / or previous injury. New risk factors which did significantly impact injury, were also determined. Conclusion: It is advised that coaches and players take note of significant injury risk factors and management protocols in order to improve player health and decrease injury risk. Further research may look into the factors identified in order to set up better structures in order to prevent further injuries.

This thesis examines and compares the nature, magnitude and movement in the inequality of income and expenditure of Australian households from 1975-76 to 1998-99 and Canadian households from 1978 to 1992. The inequality of welfare impacts on an individual’s feelings of belonging and participation in society and the level of social division within it. It may have such tangible effects as political unrest and increased crime. This raises the issue of, what is happening to the inequality of welfare and how to measure household welfare and inequality? The thesis considers the normative judgements made in measuring the inequality, desirable properties of inequality indices and the appropriate variable to represent household welfare. It finds in favour of expenditure as a more appropriate measure of a household’s living standards than income and that equivalence scales and cost of living indices should be used to account for variation in household composition and prices. The majority of past studies of Australian and Canadian inequality report an increase in income inequality throughout the latter half of the 20th century. However, the timing and size of increase is dependent upon the inequality indices, equivalence scales and sample selection used in each study. While many studies have focussed on the distribution of income, few have considered the inequality of expenditure or the explicit role of prices in inequality movements via a cost of living index. The thesis specifies a demographically extended complete demand system and uses household survey and price data to obtain estimates of its parameters to construct and compare alternate equivalence scales and demographically varying cost of living indices. The independence of the equivalence scale to reference utility was found not to hold suggesting that welfare comparisons between households of varying demographic types will be dependent on the specification of the household cost function. While the estimated price elasticities vary significantly across households, prices of commodity groups have moved such that the change in the cost of living over time is relatively uniform across households. The thesis finds that the real adult equivalent disposable income inequality of households has been rising in Australia consistently from 1975-76 to 1998-99, while real adult equivalent expenditure inequality recorded a fall over the period as a whole. In contrast, the inequality of Canadian household real adult equivalent disposable income and expenditure, have moved together, rising from 1978 to 1986 before falling in 1992. Australia has a higher magnitude of inequality in the distribution of household equivalent expenditure compared to Canada. The decline in the inequality of accommodation expenditure has been significant for Australia and Canada in offsetting the rise in inequality of expenditure on food and alcohol and tobacco. The rise in wage inequality and to a lesser extent investment income inequality, have largely accounted for the rise in gross income inequality in both countries. The thesis finds that the movement in Australian inequality is not overly sensitive to equivalence scale specification, although Engel, OECD and per capita scaled welfare tend to exaggerate the movement when compared to demand system based scales. In Canada from 1982 to 1986 changes in household composition resulted in significant difference in the movement of inequality estimates for different equivalence scales. The Engel, OECD and per capita based estimates showed a fall in inequality in contrast to the demand system based scales. The magnitude and the movement in inequality for both countries are insensitive to the specification of price indices. Excluding observations from the original sample can have extreme consequences on the reported magnitude and trend in inequality. By exploiting the additive decomposability property of inequality, the employment status and education level of the household head for Australia and Canada respectively, were found to have a large effect on the magnitude and movement in inequality. Age of the household head and the demographic type of the household were found to explain less than a sixth of the magnitude and trend in household inequality for both Australia and Canada. To summarise, this thesis makes the following contributions: Methodological i) It considers the normative judgements made in measuring inequality, the desirable properties of inequality indices and the appropriate variable to use to represent household welfare. ii) It accounts for differences amongst the demographic composition of households by using equivalence scales based upon an explicitly defined demographic extended demand system. iii) It accounts for price movements by developing a cost of living index based upon an explicitly defined demographic household cost function and complete demand system. Empirical i) Real adult equivalent disposable income inequality of households has been rising in Australia consistently from 1975-76 to 1998-99, while real adult equivalent expenditure inequality recorded a fall over the period as a whole. ii) In contrast Canadian household real adult equivalent disposable income and expenditure inequality have moved together, rising from 1978 to 1986 before falling in 1992. iii) The movement in Australian and Canadian inequality is not overly sensitive to different demand system based scales but Engel, OECD and per capita scaled estimates tend to exaggerate the movement of Australian inequality and report movements in Canadian inequality from 1982-1986 reverse to the demand system based scales. iv) The magnitude and the movement in inequality for both countries are not very sensitive to the specification of price indices. However there is evidence that regional price movements in Canada have helped to offset inequality, while allowing for differing price impacts across households using the CLI reduces this effect. For Australia price movements appear to have reduced the fall in expenditure inequality and increased the rise in income inequality slightly. v) Excluding observations from the original sample can have extreme consequences on the reported magnitude and trend in inequality. vi) Employment status and education level of the household head for Australia and Canada respectively, were found to have a large effect on the magnitude and movement in inequality. Greater than, what could be explained by decomposing by age of the household head or the demographic type of the household.

Η παρούσα εργασία αποτελεί μια διερεύνηση των παραγόντων που επηρεάζουν τις μέσες αποδόσεις των μετοχών που διαπραγματεύονται στο Χρηματιστήριο Αθηνών για τη περίοδο Ιούλιος 2004 – Ιούνιος 2011. Οι παράγοντες αυτοί αφορούν σε θεμελιώδεις οικονομικές μεταβλητές, όπως είναι ο δείκτης λογιστική προς χρηματιστηριακή αξία ενώ εξετάζεται και η επίδραση του συντελεστή β. Η μεθοδολογική προσέγγιση είναι όμοια με αυτή που εφάρμοσαν οι Fama και French (1992) , όπου στο πρώτο στάδιο οι μετοχές ομαδοποιούνται σε χαρτοφυλάκια με προκαθορισμένα κριτήρια ενώ σε δεύτερο στάδιο διενεργούνται μηνιαίες διαστρωματικές παλινδρομήσεις. Το βασικό αποτέλεσμα της εργασίας είναι ότι οι μέσες αποδόσεις των μετοχών στο Χρηματιστήριο Αθηνών δεν συνδέονται με το συντελεστή β (κίνδυνο της αγοράς) ενώ δεν εντοπίστηκε κάποια ισχυρή σχέση με κάποιο άλλο παράγοντα κινδύνου που αφορά στη χρηματιστηριακή αξία των μετοχών ή στο δείκτη λογιστική προς χρηματιστηριακή αξία. / This study is an investigation of the factors affecting the average returns of stocks that traded on the Athens Stock Exchange for the period July 2004 - June 2011. These factors relate to fundamental economic variables, such as book to market ratio. Also, we examine the influence of the coefficient β. The methodological approach is similar to that applied by Fama and French (1992), where in the first stage, stocks are grouped into portfolios with predefined criteria and subsequently carried out monthly cross sectional regressions. The main result of this study is that average stock returns in the ASE is not associated with the coefficient b (market risk) and not found a strong relationship with another risk factor for the market value of the stocks or book to market ratio.

This dissertation presents the results of a comparison of human skeletons from two historic villages (the Larson site, 39WW2, and the Leavenworth site, 39CO9), which were inhabited by Great Plains Village Horticulturalists following the arrival of Europeans and Americans. The people living at these villages are suspected to have experienced changes to their cultural practices, with Larson occupied during the beginning of the Post-Contact period and Leavenworth occupied just before the complete abandonment of the Plains Village lifeway. This study examines whether observed differences in the strength of the bones of their limbs resulted from different activities performed at each village or if the introduction of new genes may have altered limb bone shape during the Post-Contact period. The analysis relies on the examination of limb bone strength (cross-sectional properties) to identify patterns related to activities, but unlike previous studies that examine cross-sectional properties, this analysis includes a measure of biological distance to determine if biological kin share limb bone shape. The results indicate some general trends in limb strength during the Post-Contact period including a reduction in male lower limb bone strength and increased asymmetry in the lower limbs of the women at the later village, and many variables indicate greater variation in limb bone strength among women from both villages. While it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions about activity, the patterns seem to support accounts from the archaeological and historic records regarding the introduction of new cultural practices and a reduction in mobility, especially among males. The interpretation that these patterns may result from changing activities is bolstered by the analysis of biological distance. Mantel results comparing biodistance scores based on odontometry and distance scores based on limb geometry indicate that intragroup pairwise distance scores rarely correlate, with the left humeri being the most consistent exception to this pattern. The left humeri (and potentially the radius and ulna) may exhibit similarities among related individuals due to these non-dominant bones receiving relatively less biomechanical stress during activities. A seeming paradox developed in the analysis when groups (male and female samples from each site) were compared. Unlike biodistance between individuals, the groups exhibiting the greatest genetic similarities also exhibit the greatest similarity in the cross-sectional shape of their right and left femora, right humeri, and right radii, with the mid-section of the femur exhibiting the most consistent correlation regardless of the side used in the analyses. These bones seem to be the ones experiencing the greatest biomechanical stress during activities. At the group level, shape for those bones experiencing a relatively high degree of biomechanical stress during activity seem to mirror genetic relationships. These correlations may result from a convergence between genetic patterns and activity patterns. Despite greater univariate variation within each sample, females across the two sites exhibit closer biological distances than do the males. This result may be due to both matrilocality, which creates less variation within the female population over time, and continuity in female activity over time. By contrast, males exhibit a greater degree of divergence, suggesting that males from each site are more genetically dissimilar than females and that they may have experienced a greater degree of change to their activities.

O aumento da prevalência do sobrepeso e da obesidade tem se revelado um problema de saúde pública mundial. O desenvolvimento da obesidade envolve múltiplos fatores, como padrão de atividade física, padrão de alimentação, variáveis sociais e ambientais, fatores biológicos e genéticos. O objetivo deste estudo, que está aninhado no Projeto de Pesquisa OBEDIARP, foi avaliar a prevalência do sobrepeso e da obesidade na população adulta residente no município de Ribeirão Preto, estado de São Paulo, no ano de 2006 e estimá-la segundo variáveis sóciodemográficas, padrão de atividade física, padrão alimentar e saúde auto-referida. O estudo teve um delineamento transversal e foi desenvolvido no período de março de 2006 a junho de 2009. O processo de amostragem foi desenvolvido em três estágios, sendo o setor censitário a unidade primária de amostragem. Utilizou-se amostra ponderada de 2197 participantes. As variáveis do estudo foram: estado nutricional, sexo, idade, nível educacional, padrão de atividade física, tempo sentado, escores de freqüência de consumo de alimentos e auto-percepção do estado de saúde. A coleta dos dados ocorreu mediante a aplicação de entrevistas estruturadas que foram aplicadas nos domicílios dos elegíveis por uma equipe de entrevistadores previamente treinada. A taxa de resposta foi de 78%. Médias e proporções foram estimadas por pontos e por intervalos, com 95% de confiança. Para a avaliação de associações globais utilizou-se a estatística \"F\", adotando-se nível de significância de 5%. Para avaliar as relações entre o Índice de Massa Corporal e variáveis relacionadas ao padrão alimentar, ao gasto metabólico em atividade física e ao tempo sentado, utilizou-se modelo de regressão linear, adotando-se nível de significância de 5%. Todas as análises foram desenvolvidas no software STATA para Windows, versão 8.2. As estimativas levaram em consideração o efeito de desenho. Do total dos participantes do estudo 69.96% eram do sexo feminino e 30.04% do sexo masculino, com média de idade de 48.52 anos. A prevalência do excesso de peso encontrada foi de 64.65%, sendo que 39,23% foram classificados como pré-obesos e 25.42% como obesos. Os indivíduos classificados como insuficientemente ativos foram 66.29% da amostra. As variáveis sexo, faixa etária, escolaridade, estado de saúde auto-referida e estado de saúde comparado aos amigos apresentaram associação com o estado nutricional. Foi possível identificar que o consumo de alimentos de alta densidade energética e a média diária de tempo sentado estiveram positivamente associados ao índice de massa corporal, embora apenas em alguns estratos das variáveis sóciodemográficas. Conclui-se que a elevada prevalência de excesso de peso e de inatividade física na população adulta de Ribeirão Preto, apontam para a necessidade de implementação de medidas específicas de promoção e prevenção em saúde. / The increased prevalence of overweight and obesity has revealed to be a global public health problem. The development of obesity involves multiple factors, such as physical activity pattern, eating pattern, social and environmental variables, biological and genetic factors This study, part of the OBEDIARP Research Project, aimed to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the adult population living in Ribeirão Preto, a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil in 2006 and to estimate it according to socio-demographic variables, physical activity pattern, eating pattern and self-referred health. The research, with a cross-sectional design, was developed between March 2006 and June 2009. The sampling process was developed in three stages, with the census sector serving as the primary sampling unit. A weighted sample of 2197 participants was used. The study variables were: nutritional state, gender, age, education level, physical activity pattern, sitting time, food consumption frequency scores and self-perception of health state. Data were collected through structured interviews, held at the eligible participants\' homes by a previously trained team of interviewers. The response rate was 78%. Means and proportions were estimated by points and intervals, at a 95% confidence level. \"F\" statistics were used to assess global associations, adopting a 5% significance level. To assess the relations between Body Mass Index and food pattern-related variables, metabolic rate in physical activity and sitting time, a linear regression model was used, adopting a 5% significance level. All analyses were developed in STATA for Windows software, version 8.2. The effect of design was taken into account in all estimates. Of all study participants, 69.96% were women and 30.04% men, with a mean age of 48.52 years. The prevalence rate of overweight was 64.65%, with 39.23% classified as pre-obese and 25.42% as obese. Individuals classified as insufficiently active corresponded to 66.29% of the sample. The variables gender, age range, education level, self-referred health state and health state compared to friends were associated with the nutritional state. It could be identified that consumption of high-energy foods and mean daily sitting time were positively associated with the body mass index, although in some socio-demographic layers only. It is concluded that the high prevalence of overweight and physical inactivity in the adult population of Ribeirão Preto point towards the need for specific health promotion and prevention measures.