Obesity and Food Choices Among Faculty and Staff at a Large Urban University

Freedman, Marjorie R.; Rubinstein, Rebecca

doi:10.1080/07448481.2010.502203

Cited by 28 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The definition criteria were based on the International Diabetic Federation (IDF), WHO/International Society of Hypertension guidelines and American Diabetic Association (ADA). 32 General obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 , central obesity was defined using Europid values; waist circumference (WC) of ≥ 94cm (men), ≥80cm (women), waist-height ratio (WHtR) of ≥ 0.50 and waist-hip ratio (WHR) of ≥ 0.90 (men), ≥ 0.85 (women). The cardio-metabolic risk was defined as;…”

Section: Definition Of Obesity and Cardio-metabolic Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Epidemiology of General, Central Obesity and Associated Cardio-Metabolic Risks Among University Employees, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study</p>

Janakiraman¹,

Abebe²,

Chala³

et al. 2020

DMSO

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Background: Evidence suggests that middle and low-income countries such as Ethiopia are facing the growing epidemic of both communicable and non-communicable diseases creating a burden on their economy and healthcare system. The increasing prevalence of noncommunicable diseases is attributed to sedentarism, lifestyle changes, nutritional transition, and the presence of other cardiometabolic risk factors. Therefore this study was designed to assess the prevalence and association of overweight, obesity, and cardio-metabolic risks and to explore if there was any agreement among the anthropometric measurements among the academic employees of the University of Gondar, Ethiopia. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted using the WHO stepwise approach and recommendations on 381 academic staff of the university. In addition, physical measurements such as weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, and biochemical measures such as blood pressure and fasting blood glucose level (peripheral blood samples by finger puncture) were measured using standardized tools. Results: The mean age of the participants was 33.5 (95% CI: 32.7, 34.2) years. The prevalence of obesity among the study participants calculated by body mass index, waist circumference (WC), waist-height ratio (WHtR), and waist-hip ratio (WHR) was 13.1%, 33.6%, 51.9%, and 58.5% respectively. The prevalence of diabetes was 4.7% among which 1.3% was not diagnosed prior to this study. About 53 (13.9%) of the study sample were found to be hypertensive (HTN) (6.3% known versus 29 7.6% newly diagnosed). Among the participants, 39.4% and 23.4% were found to be pre-hypertensive and pre-diabetic respectively. WC was significantly associated with hypertension (AOR = 5.14; 2.503, 9.72), pre-DM (AOR = 4.03; 2.974, 5.96), DM (AOR = 3.29; 1.099, 6.01). In addition, WHtR was significantly associated with Pre-HTN (AOR = 2.69; 1.49, 4.58), HTN (AOR = 2.066; 1.008, 6.31), and DM (AOR = 1.855; 0.76, 4.32). On the contrary, both WHR and general obesity measured by BMI were not significantly associated with pre-HTN, HTN, pre-DM and DM groups. Conclusion: This study results revealed the variable prevalence between general obesity and the anthropometric indices (IDF cutoff) defining central obesity; WC, WHtR, and WHR among the participants. The result of this study suggests that the constructs of central obesity, not BMI has to be used to screen risks of cardio-metabolic risks among Ethiopians.

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Section: Definition Of Obesity and Cardio-metabolic Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Epidemiology of General, Central Obesity and Associated Cardio-Metabolic Risks Among University Employees, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study</p>

Janakiraman¹,

Abebe²,

Chala³

et al. 2020

DMSO

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“…Since University academic employees are more likely at risk of sedentism, occupational status, income, and other lifestyle changes, it is crucial to study cardio-metabolic risks and its associated factors among this population.. In Ethiopia, population-based data on the prevalence of diabetes; IFG and hypertension are scant unlike elsewhere, where these data across various occupational groups is recent interest (27)(28)(29). Current knowledge of cardio-metabolic risks in Ethiopia is mostly based on sporadic, convenience based, and hospital data from patients who present with NCDs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Central obesity, not BMI explains cardio-metabolic risks among university employees, Ethiopia – a cross-sectional study

Janakiraman

Abebe

Chala

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background: Evidence suggests that the middle and low-income countries such as Ethiopia are facing the growing epidemic of both communicable and non-communicable diseases creating burden on the healthcare system. The increasing prevalence is attributed to sedentarism, lifestyle changes and the presence of other cardio-metabolic risk factors. Therefore this study was designed to assess the prevalence and association of overweight, obesity, and cardio metabolic risks and to explore if there was any agreement among the anthropometric measurements among the academic employees of the University of Gondar, Ethiopia. Methods: An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted using the WHO stepwise approach and recommendations on 381 academic staff of the university. In addition, physical measurements such as weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, and biochemical measures such as blood pressure and fasting blood glucose level (peripheral blood samples by finger puncture) were measured using standardized tools. Result: The mean age of the participants was 33.5 years. The prevalence of obesity among the study participants defined by body mass index, waist circumference, waist height ratio and waist hip ratio was 13.1%, 33.6%, 51.9% and 58.5% respectively. The prevalence of diabetes was 4.7% among which 1.3% was not diagnosed prior to this study. About 53 (13.9%) of the study sample were found to be hypertensive (6.3% known versus 29 7.6% newly diagnosed). Among the participants 39.4% and 23.4% were found to be pre hypertensive and pre diabetic respectively. WC was significantly associated with HTN (AOR = 5.14; 2.50, 9.72), pre-DM (AOR = 4.03; 2.974, 5.96), DM (AOR = 3.29; 1.09, 6.01). In addition, WHtR was significantly associated with Pre-HTN (AOR = 2.69; 1.49, 4.58), HTN (AOR = 2.06; 1.01, 6.31), and DM (AOR = 1.85; .76, 4.32). Conclusion: This study results revealed the variable prevalence between general obesity and the anthropometric indices (IDF cutoff) defining central obesity; WC, WHtR, and WHR among the participants. The result of this study suggests that the constructs of central obesity, not BMI has to be used to screen risks of cardio-metabolic risks among Ethiopians. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, pre-hypertension, pre-diabetes, Ethiopia

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“…Of the research to date on university employees, some has focussed on nutrition, [24][25] but the majority has focussed on PA. Rissel et al, 26 in a survey of active travel in staff and students at Sydney university, reported that only 41% were sufficiently active according to PA guidelines. Agha and Al-Dabbagh, 27 in a survey of school, college and university staff in Iraq, found that support staff were less active than teaching staff, and those with the greatest sitting times were the least physically active overall.…”

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confidence: 99%

An exploration of physical activity and wellbeing in university employees

Cooper

Barton

2015

Perspect Public Health

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AimsThe aim was to explore levels of physical activity and mental well-being in university employees, as well as barriers to and incentives for workplace physical activity. MethodsAn electronic survey was distributed to all staff at one UK University. The survey consisted of: Physical activity stages of change questionnaire; international physical activity questionnaire (short-form); Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS); questions on perceived barriers to and incentives for workplace physical activity; questions on methods of enhancing employee well-being; demographics. A self-selected sample participated in two focus groups to explore key themes arising from the survey. Descriptive statistics were reported for survey data; associations between physical activity and well-being were tested for using Kruskal-Wallis with 2 post-hoc Mann-Whitney. Descriptive, thematic analysis was performed on focus group transcripts.Results 502 surveys were completed (34% response rate); thirteen staff participated in focus groups. 42% of the sample reported physical activity below the recommended guideline amount. Females were less active than males (p<0.005). The mean WEMWBS was 49.2 (95%CI 48.3 -49.9). Low physical activity levels were related to lower WEMWBS scores, with statistically significant differences in WEMWBS demonstrated between low and moderate physical activity (p,0.05) and low and high physical activity (p,0.001). Lack of time and perceived expense of facilities were common barriers to workplace physical activity. The main focus group finding was the impact of university culture on workplace physical activity and well-being. ConclusionsUniversity staff demonstrate physical activity levels and a relationship between physical activity and well-being similar to the general population. Carefully designed strategies aimed at enhancing physical activity and well-being in university staff are required. The specific cultural and other barriers to workplace physical activity that 3 exist in this setting should be considered. These results are being used to inform such interventions whose effectiveness will be evaluated in future research.

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Obesity and Food Choices Among Faculty and Staff at a Large Urban University

Cited by 28 publications

References 21 publications

<p>Epidemiology of General, Central Obesity and Associated Cardio-Metabolic Risks Among University Employees, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study</p>

<p>Epidemiology of General, Central Obesity and Associated Cardio-Metabolic Risks Among University Employees, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study</p>

Central obesity, not BMI explains cardio-metabolic risks among university employees, Ethiopia – a cross-sectional study

An exploration of physical activity and wellbeing in university employees

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