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Valmórbida JL et al.
736 Rev Assoc Med Bras 2017; 63(9):736-740
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Nutritional knowledge and body mass index: A cross-sectional study
Julia Luzzi Valmórbida 1, Maíra Ribas Goulart1, Fernanda Michielin Busnello1, Lúcia Campos P ellanda1,2*
1Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
2Instituto de Cardiologia do Rio Grande do Sul/Fundação Universitária de Cardiologia (IC/FUC), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Summary
Study conducted at Instituto de
Cardiologia/Fundação Universitária
de Cardiologia, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Article received: 1/20/2017
Accepted for publication: 4/3/2017
*Correspondence:
Instituto de Cardiologia/Fundação
Universitária de Cardiologia
Address: Av. Princesa Isabel, 370,
3º andar
Porto Alegre, RS – Brazil
Postal code: 99620-000
Objective: To verify the knowledge about food and nutrition and its association
with the nutritional status of obese patients with noncommunicable diseases
(NCDs), and to identify the relationship between information sources and
level of knowledge.
Method: Cross-sectional study that included 263 outpatients of a cardiology
referral hospital in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The participants
filled out a questionnaire on socioeconomic data and knowledge about food
and nutrition and had their nutritional status evaluated by body mass index
(BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-hip ratio (WHR).
Results: BMI showed a significant inverse association with the percentage of
correct answers (p=0.002), as well as WC (p=0.000) and WHR (p<0.001). This
was also true for education (p<0.001) and female gender (p=0.005) compared
to males. More than 60% of patients reported using television and 23% reported
using newspaper as sources of nutritional information.
Conclusion: Our study revealed a significant association between BMI and
the level of knowledge about foods, showing that there is need for more
information on obesity-related NCDs for greater understanding by patients.
Keywords: obesity, knowledge, attitudes and health practices, nutrition,
chronic disease.
Introduction
Chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCD) were re-
sponsible for 38 million deaths worldwide in 2012.1
These include diabetes mellitus (DM) and high blood
pressure (HBP). It is known that an increased body mass
index (BMI) is related to an increase in CNCDs and that
the specific treatment of obesity can also act in the con-
trol of other CNCDs.2 In Brazil, 12.5% of men and 16.9%
of women are obese.3 Therefore, weight loss is a pri-
mary goal in public health strategies directed to this
population.
In order to promote healthier eating habits and im-
prove self-care regarding CNCD, it is important for the
population to gain knowledge about food and nutrition,4-6
especially those related to healthy food choices and nu-
tritional recommendations.7 Several studies have found
a relationship between dietary knowledge and obesity,8-11
as well as nutritional status.12
Considering that the understanding of these issues
is important for advancing the treatment of CNCDs, the
objective of our study is to describe the knowledge about
diet and nutrition and its relation with the nutritional
status of obese patients with CNCD who attend a cardi-
ology outpatient clinic.
Method
Patients
This cross-sectional study was carried out with patients
attending the general outpatient clinic of the SUS (Brazil-
ian public health system) in a reference hospital random-
ly selected between May and July 2009. The sample was
calculated using a 95% confidence interval, with a margin
of error of 6%, estimating an average of 70% of correct
answers in the questionnaire, resulting in a minimum of
225 patients. Considering the possibility of losses, the
final sample consisted of 263 patients.
Patients with BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2,
individuals aged 20 years or older and who agreed to
participate by signing a Free and Informed Consent Form
(FICF) were included.