Overweight and obesity in relation to cardiovascular disease risk factors among medical students in Crete, Greece

Abstract

BackgroundRecent data indicate increasing rates of adult obesity and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Greece. No data, however, are available on prevalence of overweight and obesity in relation to CVD risk factors among young adults in Greece.MethodsA total of 989 third-year medical students (527 men, 462 women), aged 22 ± 2 years, were recruited from the University of Crete during the period 1989–2001. Anthropometric measures and blood chemistries were obtained. The relationships between obesity indices (body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC], waist-to-hip ratio [WHpR], waist-to-height ratio [WHtR]) and CVD risk factor variables (blood pressure, glucose, serum lipoproteins) were investigated.ResultsApproximately 40% of men and 23% of women had BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2. Central obesity was found in 33.4% (average percentage corresponding to WC ≥ 90 cm, WHpR ≥ 0.9 and WHtR ≥ 50.0) of male and 21.7% (using WC ≥ 80 cm, WHpR ≥ 0.8, WHtR ≥ 50.0) of female students. Subjects above the obesity indices cut-offs had significantly higher values of CVD risk factor variables. BMI was the strongest predictor of hypertension. WHtR in men and WC in women were the most important indicators of dyslipidaemia.ConclusionA substantial proportion of Greek medical students were overweight or obese, obesity status being related to the presence of hypertension and dyslipidaemia. Simple anthropometric indices can be used to identify these CVD risk factors. Our results underscore the need to implement health promotion programmes and perform large-scale epidemiological studies within the general Greek young adult population.

Estilo de vida e formação médica: impacto sobre o perfil nutricional

“…Já entre os adultos de 25 a 34 anos, o percentual de excesso de peso atingiu 48,9% e 36% de homens e mulheres, respectivamente 20 . Embora fatores como estilo de vida, nível educacional e condição socioeconômica e a metodologia empregada nos estudos limitem comparações com os estudos supracitados, as prevalências de sobrepeso e obesidade entre EM e MR têm se mostrado preocupantes [13][14][15][16][17] . Um estudo realizado na Grécia com 989 EM que cursavam o terceiro ano acadêmico identificou prevalência de sobrepeso -índice de massa corporal (IMC) > 25,0 kg/m 2 -de 39,5% (208/527) entre os homens e de 23% (108/462) entre as mulheres.…”

“…Um estudo realizado na Grécia com 989 EM que cursavam o terceiro ano acadêmico identificou prevalência de sobrepeso -índice de massa corporal (IMC) > 25,0 kg/m 2 -de 39,5% (208/527) entre os homens e de 23% (108/462) entre as mulheres. Essa pesquisa também demonstrou que a obesidade central -que está associada com maior risco de desenvolvimento de diabetes mellitus tipo II, doenças cardiovasculares e esteatose hepática 21 -foi identificada em 33,4% e 21,7% dos homens e mulheres, respectivamente 14 .…”

“…É importante ressaltar as limitações das pesquisas realizadas, tais como número amostral reduzido 13,29 , número amostral não homogêneo entre homens e mulheres avaliados 13,16 , peso e altura autorreferidos 22 , ausência de um grupo controle [13][14][15][16][17]22,29 e a participação voluntária, o que pode comprometer a avaliação de voluntários com excesso de peso 28 . Estes fatores podem não demonstrar a real prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade entre EM e MR e limitar comparações com dados epidemiológicos populacionais e com demais estudos realizados com estudantes de outros cursos acadêmicos, sendo necessá-rias novas pesquisas com esta população.…”

A simple descriptive analysis of hospital admissions’ progress: a case study of the Greatest Public Gene- ral Hospital, Athens, Greece

“…In Greece, people aged over 65 are projected to be about 3.5 million in 2060, compared to 2.1 million in 2008. In other words, there will be an increase of 68%, while the young (aged [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] and productive people (aged 15-64) are projected to decrease by 10% and 18% respectively [5] .…”

“…Third, the high level of obesity and the reduction in the 'Mediterranean diet', of which Greece was the most representative example a few years ago, has led to bad health for the Greeks over the last decades [6,7] .…”