Anthropometric assessment, nutrition and level of knowledge of users of two Family Health units

Resumo

Objectives: to evaluate the anthropometric data, level of knowledge about healthy eating and eating habits of adult users of two Basic Family Health Units (BFHU) in Franca-SP. Materials and Methodos: this is a quantitative, cross-sectional research that had as its target audience 224 users aged between 18 and 60 years, registered in two BFHU in Franca-SP, who were responsible for food acquisition in their homes, from them the level of knowledge about healthy eating, eating habits, BMI and waist circumference were evaluated. Data collection was performed with the help of properly trained students from the Nutrition course. Results: there were high rates of overweight (73.2%), especially obesity among the female population (42%), as well as increased waist circumference, whose incidence was also high (85.7%) and predominant among females (86.8%), which predisposes those surveyed to greater risk for cardiovascular disease. It was also observed a high consumption of processed/ultra-processed products, especially among the obese (55.1%), who also had the highest rates of low knowledge (31.5%). Individuals with high knowledge were those who most consumed processed/ultra-processed products. Final considerations: The high rates of overweight and the lack of knowledge about healthy eating verified in this study prove the need to develop food and nutrition education actions, especially in primary health care and more specifically in the Family Health Units, where actions directed to Health Promotion are developed.