Nutritional knowledge among Obese and Eutrophic women treated at an outpatient health unit: Classification and Comparison between Groups

Abstract

Objective:To compare the level of nutritional knowledge between obese and eutrophic women. Methods: Cross-sectional study, non-probabilistic sample of obese (n 64) and eutrophic (n 64) women, aged between 19 and 60 years. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, anthropometric data (BMI, WC), QCN and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), short version, were collected. Results: Level of nutritional knowledge presented by the majority of "moderate" (72% OM and 82.8% ME). Classification of physical activity, the majority of participants in both groups were "active" (59.4% OM and 70.3% ME). When the NCN and the sociodemographic variables were associated, a positive association was perceived between the level of "moderate / high" nutritional knowledge of both groups; family income 1 to 2 minimum wages (p = 0.023); lifestyle, alcoholism (p = 0.016) and physical activity classified as "active". As for the associations between anthropometric variables (WC and BMI), there was no statistically significant association between the í­ndices. Conclusion: The majority of the obese and eutrophic group had a "moderate" level of nutritional knowledge, with no differences between the groups, which was associated with higher family income, greater consumption of alcoholic beverages and more active individuals.