La actividad física y el estado nutricional en médicos

Abstract

Context: due to their knowledge about physical well-being and how to achieve it, healthcare professionals ought to set the example for the community in general regarding a healthy lifestyle based on eating good food and exercising. However, in real terms, there are no data available concerning the physical condition, level of activity and nutrition of health professionals.
Objective: to establish the degree of excess weight and physical activity of the medical practitioners working at IESS (National Health Service) Hospital San Francisco in Quito. Subjects and methods: This is an epidemiologic cross-sectional descriptive study aimed at defining the prevalence of excess weight of medical personnel using BMI, IPAQ (short version) and a food consumption survey.
Principal measurements: physical activity, nutritional condition, added salt, consumption of saturated fats and fruits.
Results: the number of medical professionals taking part was 80, out of which 46, i.e. 57.5%; IC95%: 46.57%-67.74%) are women. 86.2% of the subjects are between 30 to 50 years of age. The IPAQ classification indicated that half of the participants (50%; n=40; IC95%: 39.30%-60.70%) undertake a moderate form of
physical activity such as walking, and that just 17 (21.3%; IC: 13.71%-31.42%) of the participants perform vigorous physical workouts. Females walk more than males (33% vs. 18%). Moreover, 53.8% (n= 43); IC95%: 42.9 – 64.3% health practitioners are classed as overweight or obese. The males tended to be more overweight/obese than the females: (30% vs. 24%). Also, 41.3 % of the subjects admitted adding salt to their food daily, and 22.5% knowingly consume saturated fats. Regarding the consumption of fruits and vegetables, 60% (n=48); IC: 49.05%-70.04% revealed that they have moderate or relevant consumption of these products. There is a correlation between increased physical activity and decreased BMI whereby the average BMI tends to go down.
Likewise, those participants with decreased physical activity, tended to put on weight.
Conclusion: half of the medical personnel are overweight. Due to additional external influences, physical activity is not the only determining factor for weight loss among the medical staff analysed.