Nutritional knowledge and anthropometric indicators of primary school teachers in public schools

Introduction: Knowledge of specific domains in nutrition is an important target for nutritional education and has the potential to contribute to improving diet quality, as well as avoiding unfavorable outcomes and increasing health costs. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between nutritional knowledge and anthropometric indicators of primary school teachers in public schools. Materials and methods: A crosssectional study carried out in the urban area of the northwestern region of Rio Grande do Sul, between March and November of 2017, with random sampling by conglomerates of municipalities. Socioeconomic data were collected and nutritional knowledge was evaluated through a validated questionnaire. The measured anthropometric indicators were weight and height for calculating body mass index and waist circumference. The data were analyzed in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences using the Kruskall-Wallis test. Values of p=0.05 were considered significant. Results: The sample consisted of 403 teachers, 90.1% female, mean age 42.02 +/- 10.395 years. There was no association between nutritional knowledge and body mass index (p=0.864) and waist circumference (p=0.150). There was a prevalence of excess weight (53.1%) and risk of metabolic complications (51.1%). Conclusion: The findings indicate that nutritional knowledge does not necessarily imply anthropometric indicators and demonstrate the need for intervention strategies for behavioral change in the prevention and treatment of excess weight.