Overweight and obesity in nursing staff of the Institute of Cardiology of Corrientes. 2017 year

Abstract

Overweight and obesity are global problems due to their impact on human health; in nursing it is detected more frequently compared to the rest of the health team. This study sought to characterize the presence of overweight and obesity in nursing staff at the Corrientes Institute of Cardiology during 2017. The design was quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional. Of 100 respondents, according to BMI 40% were eutrophic, 35% were overweight and 25% obese. Regarding sex, 43% of women were overweight and 48% obese; in men 57% were overweight and 52% obese. Ordered age groups, in those aged 25 to 34, 51% were overweight and 28% obese; in the 35 to 44 years, 23% were overweight and 20% obese; while in those aged 45 to 55, 26% were overweight and 52% obese. It was observed that 91% consumed food during the working day, with an average of four meals. In the entire sample, 53% did not practice physical activity; in eutrophic patients 40% did not refer to routine physical exercises; in those with overweight this amounted to 54%; and in the obese 72%. When analyzing the nutritional status according to work shifts, 33% showed overweight and 50% obesity in night shifts and 43% overweight and 26% obesity in rotary ones. In conclusion, the results indicate that nursing personnel are a vulnerable group with frequencies of overweight and obesity that increase in those who do not engage in physical activity, in those who consume frequent meals at work and in those with night or rotating hours.