The effects of breakfast habits of healthcare professionals on bodymass indexand body components

This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the breakfast habits and attitudes of healthcare professionals towards breakfast meal and to determine whether there is a significant difference between them by body analysis. The research was carried out at Duzce University Health Application and Research Center between September 2021 and July 2022. The questionnaire form prepared by the researcher was applied face to face, and the height, weight measurements and body analyzes of the participants were made by the researcher. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 23.0 package program was used to evaluate the data obtained from the research. The statistical significance level in the tests was evaluated as p<0.05. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 200 people, 132 women and 68 men. The majority of the participants in the study are nurses and nurse assistants with 39.5% (n=79). While 62% (n=124) of the participants work in regular hours, 38% (n=76) work ona shift basis. When the BMI values are examined, the mean result is 25.07±4.29 for women and 26.79±3.46 for men.According to the BMI of the participants, 50.8% of women are normal and 44.1% of men are overweight.While the mean fat percentage in women is 28.27±6.84%, it is 21.31±4.89% in men. It is seen that there is a significant relationship (p=0.018<0.05) between the way of working and the frequency of having breakfast. In addition, a significant relationship was found between the frequency of having breakfast and the presence of chronic disease (p=0.007<0.05). The presence of chronic disease is higher in participants who do not regularly eat breakfast. There was a significant difference between BMI groups and marital status (p=0.00<0.05), who had breakfast with (p=0.009<0.05) and foods consumed for breakfast (p=0.000<0.05). According to the results of the research, it is recommended to provide nutrition education to healthcareprofessionals in order to develop a healthy lifestyle and appropriate eating habits, to eliminate wrong nutrition practices. It is recommended to raise awareness of the society on this issue by providing trainings on healthy nutrition not only to health professionals, but also to different occupational groups working in other institutions and organizations.