Abstract:

Introduction: Recent international studies have shown an increase in the prevalence of obesity in health workers, however, data from Brazilian health workers are still limited. Objective: to evaluate the nutritional profile of employees of a university hospital. Methods: Observational study with employees of a university hospital. The evaluation of nutritional status included the anthropometric evaluation of abdominal circumference (AC) and body mass index (BMI). Body composition was obtained by skin folds. Food intake and macronutrients were estimated by means of a three-day food registry. Results: 172 employees participated in the study, 93% (n = 160) women and 7% (n = 12) men. Of the total, 52.9% (n = 91) were health professionals, 33.15% (n = 57) administrative and 13.95% (n = 24) belonging to the support sectors. Mean AC was 90.88 ± 14.82 cm in women and 102.0 ± 13.15 cm in men. Overweight and obesity, according to the BMI, were present in 76.88% (n = 123) of the women and 83.33% (n = 10) of the men. The mean body fat percentage was 37.43 ± 5.04% in women and 29.75 ± 4.56% in men. The qualitative food intake was adequate in both sexes, except the consumption of saturated fat in women. The consumption of more than 30% of total fat in the diet was significantly associated (p = 0.03) with the presence of overweight in this population. Conclusion: This study evidenced a high frequency of excess body weight and food inadequacy in university hospital employees and highlighted the association between overweight and high lipid consumption in this population.

Keywords: