The obesity paradox is present in cancer patients only when obesity is defined by BMI. Patients with sarcopenic obesity had the poorest prognosis. Cancer patients with high mortality risk can be identified by a body-composition assessment.

Objective:To assess the prevalence of nutritional risk in surgical patients of a teaching hospital and its associated factors.Methods:A cross-sectional study with secondary data of surgical ward patients of the Hospital Escola da Universidade Federal de Pelotas, from April to October, 2010. Patients were evaluated up to 36 hours after admission using the Malnutrition Screening Tool.Results:The study included 565 patients, with a mean age of 52.8±15.6 years, and the majority (51%) was female. More than 30% of the patients presented with an average or high nutritional risk, and 7% of them were at high risk. Associated with the greater risk were aging, cancer surgery, and mortality. The length of hospital stay showed a linear increase according to nutritional risk.Conclusion:The Malnutrition Screening Tool is a simple and effective tool for nutritional screening that does not require anthropometric measurements. In this study, average or high nutritional risk was prevalent in one third of the sample, and was related to increased mortality, hospital stay, cancer, and aging. Nutritional care outpatients’ protocols could be used prior to elective surgery to reduce the nutritional risk of these patients, improving clinical outcomes and reducing length and costs of hospital stay.

The present study aims to evaluate compliance of cancer patients to EPA-enriched supplementation at the beginning of chemotherapy, and its effects on inflammation. Gastrointestinal and lung cancer patients were randomly assigned to receive nutritional supplement enriched with 2.2 g EPA or standard isocaloric one. Supplements were introduced 72 h before the first chemotherapy and continued for 4 wk. Serum C-reactive protein was measured and its variation was analyzed according to tumor location and treatment group. Compliance was assessed by phone contact and counting of supplement bottles returned after treatment. Sixty-nine patients were assessed, mean aged 65.5 yr old, most of them (59%) men. Gastrointestinal cancer was more prevalent and lung cancer had the highest C-reactive protein values (P = 0.009). Twenty-four patients interrupted treatment (trend for more interruption in EPA group), mainly because of gastrointestinal intolerance. No difference was found in C-reactive protein variation between EPA and control groups after treatment. Lung tumors showed higher inflammation than gastrointestinal ones. A short intervention with EPA was insufficient to reduce inflammation, which may be caused by the frequent abandoning of treatment. The beginning of chemotherapy may not be the optimal time point to initiate EPA supplementation because uncomfortable effects of both treatments may lead to poor adherence.

Resumo Objetivo: descrever comportamentos relacionados à saúde de profissionais de saúde dos ambulatórios do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) no município de Pelotas-RS, Brasil, em relação a alimentação, consumo de bebidas alcoólicas, tabagismo e prática de atividade física. Métodos: estudo transversal com profissionais que trabalhavam no atendimento direto a pacientes, de maio a julho de 2012. Resultados: dos 340 profissionais, 53,0% eram mulheres com média de idade de 42 anos (desviopadrão: 13,7 anos), em sua maioria (68,9%) eutróficas, enquanto 50,6% dos homens abordados apresentavam sobrepeso; 49,7% eram sedentários e 27,6% consumiam frutas diariamente; a presença de um 'perfil saudável' (concomitância de índice de massa corporal normal, não fumar, consumir frutas e verduras diariamente, praticar atividade física e não adicionar sal aos alimentos já preparados) esteve presente em 15,3% dos profissionais e foi mais frequente entre as mulheres (p=0,004). Conclusão: são necessárias mudanças nos comportamentos relacionados à saúde dos profissionais estudados.