Fatores associados à obesidade em rodoviários da Região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Abstract

RESUMO: Objetivo: Analisar os fatores demográficos, comportamentais e ocupacionais associados à obesidade em trabalhadores do transporte coletivo urbano de cidades da Região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte (RMBH), Minas Gerais, Brasil. Método: Estudo transversal com 1.448 motoristas e cobradores da RMBH. Dados antropométricos, demográficos, comportamentais, de vínculo com a empresa e condições do ônibus foram coletados, em 2012, por meio de questionário aplicado face a face por entrevistador. Para o cálculo da obesidade, utilizou-se como ponto de corte o índice de massa corporal ≥ 30 kg/m2. Razões de prevalência (RP) e seus respectivos intervalos de confiança de 95% (IC95%) foram ajustados pela técnica de regressão multivariada de Poisson. Resultados: A prevalência da obesidade entre os trabalhadores foi de 16,1%. O sexo feminino (RP = 1,84; IC95% 1,37 - 2,49), estar nas faixas etárias dos 30 aos 39 anos (RP = 1,66; IC95% 1,17 - 2,37) e dos 40 aos 49 anos (RP = 1,59; IC95% 1,04 - 2,42), tempo no cargo de 5,01 a 10 anos (RP = 1,52; IC95% 1,04 - 2,42) e 20,01 a 47 anos (RP = 1,90; IC95% 1,21 - 3,00) e inatividade física (RP 1,32; IC95% 1,01 - 1,73) permaneceram independentemente associados à obesidade após o ajuste multivariado dos dados. Conclusão: Tais achados evidenciam a necessidade de considerar, nas discussões sobre promoção da saúde dos rodoviários, ações que incentivem a participação dos trabalhadores em atividades saudáveis, assim como a melhoria da organização e gestão do trabalho, para que este seja um promotor de saúde e bem-estar nesta população.

Lifestyle of public transport bus drivers and fare collectors

“…Moreover, over half of the participants did not comply with the recommended minimum of 150 minutes of physical activity per week for health promotion (7) . Other studies have reported high percentages of workers who did not practice physical activity, with mean values ranging from 25 to 66% (5)(6)(7)13,24) , which corroborates our findings (bus drivers -59.09%; fare collectors -53.33%). Regardless of the job, the participants exhibited levels of physical inactivity higher than the value observed for the male Brazilian population (35 to 40% are physically inactive) (25) .…”

“…Men represented almost the entirety of the workers on the jobs analyzed in this study. This finding is similar to previous studies focused on these professions (5,8,11,12) and it seems to be related to the danger that surrounds the job considering the number of robberies and road traffic accidents (6) . In addition, the mean age of bus drivers was higher than that of fare collectors, probably due the hierarchy of jobs in the workplace and to the fact that in order to get a bus driving license (license D) in Brazil, the applicant must be 21 years of age or older and have a minimum of two years of license B (vehicles that do not exceed 8 seats) or one year of license C (cargo vehicles) (7,11) .…”

“…The working conditions to which bus drivers and fare collectors are subjected include many hours in a sitting position and repeated movements, especially among drivers (7,14) . The exhaustive work routine associated with a lack of interest in or instructions about the benefits and motivation are possibly the main factors that support the low levels of physical activity (5,10,23) . A previous study revealed that before starting the job 29.1% of bus drivers did not achieve the minimum recommended amount of physical activity and after being promoted to bus drivers this level increased to 56.4% (14) .…”

“…Chronic exposure to these circumstances added to the psychological stress of the job and unfavorable eating conditions tend to put the worker at an increased risk of depression or anxiety disorders and overweight and obesity, thereby giving way to the development of cardiometabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes (5,10,23,24,26) . In order to reduce these risks, the PNPS (19) includes actions targeted at healthy eating, regular physical activity, smoking prevention and control, and reduction of the abuse of alcohol and other drugs.…”

“…The prevalence of obesity among public transport workers has been high in both international (32% on average) and national studies (24% on average) (5) . This may be related to exposure to high levels of psychological stress (6)(7)(8) .…”