ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to assess the influence of weight gain on the lipid profile of 135 adolescents between 10 - 14 years at baseline and 15 - 19 years at follow-up, enrolled in public schools in Recife, Brazil. The results showed that a BMI z-score correlated with triglycerides (TG) and with high density trigliceride lipopoteine ratio (TG/HDL-c) in males. In females, high z-score correlated with total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein (LDL-c). In males, for each unit increase in z-score, TG increased by 14.7 mg/dL and the TG/HDL-c ratio increased by 0.4. Among females, TC increased by 9.4 mg/dL, LDL-c increased by 11.6 mg/dL, non-HDL cholesterol increased by 11.8 mg/dL, and HDL-c decreased by 2.3 mg/dL. In males, excessive weight gain was associated with an increase in TG and TG/HDL-c; in females, it was associated with a higher increase in TG/HDL-c and non-HDL cholesterol. However, z-score variation can be a good predictor of lipid profile changes, even in those that are within the normal range.