engleski

Physically active workers from Primorsko-goranska County, Croatia adhere more to Mediterranean diet

Issue/problem: Obesity is major cause of non- communicable diseases mortality and morbidity worldwide. Public health programs aiming reducing obesity and consequent non- communicable diseases are focused on promotion of healthy diet and physical activity, therefore we conducted workplace diet-physical activity study among 105 workers (men 46%, women 54%). We evaluated workers physical activity habits with physical activity questionnaire (EPAQ2), and their habitual diet with food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The adherence to Mediterranean diet was assessed with Mediterranean diet score (MDS). Workers anthropometric measures were also collected. Results: There were 21% physically active (PA) workers (men 25%, women 18%) and they were younger than non-physically active (NPA) workers, especially PA men (p=0.0066). Body mass index (BMI) didn’t differed among men regarding physical activity, while BMI among PA women was lower and their body adiposity (%) was statistically significantly lower (p=0.0062) compared to NPA women. PA workers had better diet quality that moderately adhered to Mediterranean diet, while NPA men had diet that didn’t adhere to Mediterranean diet. The relative risk of developing non-communicable diseases due to lower physical activity and having unhealthy dietary habits was among men 67% and among women 63% with statistical significance of p=0.0021 for women. Lessons Regarding provided results we can conclude that promotion of physical activity is of significant importance for workers good health in addition to promotion of Mediterranean diet. Key message: Public health strategies regarding reducing obesity should be aimed more on employers to encourage and provide their employees the opportunity and conditions to be more active and to eat healthier.

physical activity mediterranean diet, Croatia

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