Self-perception of body weight, nutritional status and food consumption of employees of a public university in Brazil

Introduction: The body weight perception is an important component of body image and can show how the people see themselves, the anxiety and the satisfaction with the weight. The body weight perception can be influenced for several factors, as culture, age, sex and educational level. Objective: Identify association between nutritional status and food consumption with self-perception of body weight of employees of a public university in Recife. Methods: Two hundred and sixty seven employees were assessed trough a questionnaire that addressed demographics, socioeconomics, dietetics and life style variables, beyond anthropometric assessment and perception of body weight. Results: About 60% of the sample studied had overweight and, among them, almost 20% was obese, but there wasn't difference between sexes. In relation to body weight perception, 38,0% and 9,7% of the men and 41,2% and 22,9% of the women perceived themselves as overweight and obese, respectively (p=0,0035). When nutritional status was compared with the perception, only among men there was difference (p=0,0049), with weight underestimation. Regarding food consumption, the women who perceived themselves as overweight responded more recommendations for fat and sugar than those who had a diagnosis. Moreover, women consumed more food to compensate sad moments than men. Discussion and Conclusions: The overweight and obesity are public health problem in Brazil. The weight underestimation decrease the perception of the people about the necessity and adherence of treatment of overweight and the consumption of food to compensate sad moments help to keep the obesity. Therefore, interventions considering the perception of weight are essential to decrease the overweight, distribution of risk of body fat and use of food to compensate sad moments.