Anthropometric analysis of health workers: an alternative to predict risks for chronic diseases

Abstract

The anthropometric measures of 295 workers of a hospital of Fortaleza-CE were analyzed in order to accomplish the present research. It was made a transversal study on the basis of form, contemplating social-economic information and the following parameters: Body Mass Index (BMI), waist-hip relation (WHR) and Abdominal circumference (AM). It was verified that 63.4% of the sample was composed by women; the ages varied from 19 to 55 years of age and 63.3% were less than 35 years of age. The overweight prevalence and obesity were 33, 2% and 13, 9%, respectively. The abdominal obesity was evidenced in 29, 8% and high values of the WHR were identified in 27, 1 %. It is concluded that the population studied, even though they were young, presented alterations in relation to the analyzed parameters that make the population more liable to cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance and diabetes type 2, evidencing the necessity to adopt strategies that stimulate the acquisition of healthy alimentary habits and practice of physical activity for the prevention or the correction of the weight excess.