Investigation of nutritional status, physical activity and diabetes risk level in desk workers

Diabetes has become a major health problem worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the nutritional status, physical activity and diabetes risk level in individuals aged 18-65 years working at a desk without a diagnosis of diabetes and to examine the relationship between them. The research was conducted with 110 volunteer individuals working in a public institution in Ankara. A questionnaire was applied to individuals and anthropometric measurements were taken. A 24-hour food consumption record was taken to assess the nutritional status of the individuals. A 24-hour physical activity level assessment form was used to determine the level of physical activity. The Finnish Diabetes Risk Score Questionnaire was used to determine diabetes risk level. The study data were obtained through face-to-face interviews. The mean age of the individuals was 35.40±7.06 years. The mean waist circumference of women was 81.24±12.00, while the mean waist circumference of men was 96.94±14.42. The body mass index value of 65.5% of the women was in the normal range, while the body mass index value of 56.4% of the men was in the slightly obese range. It was found that 81.8% of the individuals were sedentary. As a result of diabetes risk assessment, 40.9% of the individuals were in the mild risk group and 20.9% in the moderate risk group. There was no statistically significant difference between the diabetes risk level of women and men (p>0.05). A significant difference was found between the average physical activity level, body mass index, waist/hip ratio and waist/height ratio of individuals in the low, mild, moderate, and high diabetes risk groups (p<0.05). A negative correlation was found between physical activity level and diabetes risk score (p<0.05). A positive correlation was found between age, body mass index, waist/hip ratio and waist/height ratio and diabetes risk score (p<0.05). In conclusion, anthropometric measurement values and physical activity level of individuals were found to be effective on diabetes risk.