Excess weight in employees of food and nutrition units at a university in São Paulo State

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence and identify the factors associated with excess weight in restaurant employees at a public university in the city of São Paulo. METHODS: A socioeconomic and nutritional census was conducted with 174 individuals to obtain data on body mass, height, and socioeconomic status, using a structured questionnaire. The body mass index was determined, and the cut-off points recommended by the World Health Organization were used. Student's t test, Fisher's exact test, and the χ(2) test were used to verify the differences between the means and prevalences. Poisson regression analyses with robust variance were performed, and the outcomes were excess weight or no excess weight. RESULTS: Most of the employees (57.5%) were women; 59.8% were non-white, 45.4% lived with a partner, 26.4% were smokers, and 50.6% were sedentary. There was a predominance of individuals with excess weight (60.9%), and most of them (64.0%) were women, non-white (66.3%), lived alone (58.8%), and were non-smokers (63.3%); furthermore, 62.8% of the subjects engaged in physical activities. There was a significant difference (p=0.03) regarding body mass index and gender, demonstrating more excess weight among the women. Excess weight was dependent on the age group and was more likely to occur in individuals over 50 years of age (adjusted prevalence ratio: 1.72; 95% confidence interval: 1.02 - 2.98). CONCLUSION: There was a high prevalence of excess weight in these professionals, indicating the necessity for interventions to control this important risk factor for chronic non-communicable diseases.