Prevalence and Factors of Overweight and Obesity among Medical Personnel in a District Hospital

Abstract

Background: In 2022, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Thailand reached 47.8%, marking a rise from 34.7% in 2016, the second highest in ASEAN following Malaysia. Furthermore, there is high obesity among healthcare workers. Objective: To investigate the prevalence rate and factors affecting overweight and obesity among medical personnel. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was designed. The sample size of 169 medical personnel working at a district hospital was included in the present study. Age over 20 years old and informed consent was required in the inclusion criteria. Weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) through self-reports for assessing obesity. A 5-level scale of eating behavior and the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) with a reliability of 0.79 to 0.93 were used to collect the data in September and October 2022. Logistic Regression was used to analyze the data. Results: The prevalence of overweight was 14.79%, (BMI of 23.0 to 24.9 kg/m2) and 40.24% obesity (BMI of 25.0 kg/m2 or greater), with more obesity in males than females. The factors associated with obesity were male gender, increasing age, occupation, job position, poor eating behavior, and moving of body while working less than six hours/shift (p<0.05). The findings from the multivariate analysis factors for obesity revealed male gender (AOR 7.99, 95% CI 2.74 to 23.25), age 50 to 58 years (AOR 17.48, 95% CI 2.30 to 133.04), nurse (AOR 0.39, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.91), and poor eating behavior (AOR 3.22, 95% CI 1.46 to 7.08) were associated with obesity. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among health personnel is higher than the prevalence in Thailand and the main factors are shift working, eating behavior, and less moving. The present study finding can be useful in planning the program and practical policies on decreasing obesity in the future. © 2023 Journal of The Medical Association of Thailand.