Introduction
Balanced and regular nutrition is one of the most important requirements for a long, healthy life; otherwise, we can be confronted with problems related to malnutrition. One of these problems is obesity.
Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the accumulation of too much fat in the body at a level that could disrupt health.” It is a health problem which is very widely observed in all communities, and it takes the form of a global epidemy at this time.1
Obesity has a negative effect on blood pressure, and it increases the possibility of cardiovascular problems. 2 Among obesity indices, WC which evaluates abdominal or central obesity is accepted as risk factor for Metabolic Syndrome (MetS).3 When compared to general obesity, which is evaluated with BMI, it is clear that abdominal obesity is strongly correlated with cardiovascular diseases. 4 Obesity, which increases due to unhealthy life styles, is also related to various chronic health risks such as cancer and type 2 diabetics in the advanced periods of life. 5,6 Avoiding an unhealthy life style can prevent 80 % of health problems, paralysis, type 2 diabetics, and 40 % of cancers. 7
When the data of the Turkey Diabetes, Obesity and Hypertension Epidemiology Study (TURDEP-I) 8 is investigated, it is seen that around 40 % of adult Turks conformed to the norms specified by WHO and that more than half of the community had a problem with overweight (35 % were overweight and 22 % were obese).
When the definition of WHO for WC is considered with respect to mean obesity levels (≥88 cm for women and ≥102 cm for men), it was determined that the general obesity prevalence of obesity is 34.3 % (48.4 % for women and 16.9 % for men). The fact that the mean obesity level is so high in Turkish women indicates the serious problems that the female population may face in the near future, mainly being related to cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetics.
As specified in the TURDEP-II study, 9 the obesity frequency level in women was at a ratio of 44 %, 60 % higher than for men (27 %). In the last 12 years, obesity has increased by a ratio of 34 % in women and 107 % in men. According to the study, the mean obesity frequency level in Turkey with respect to WC was found to be 52.6%, and two-thirds of women and one third of men were found to be obese. It is worth noting that the highest percentage of men fall into the overweight category and the highest percentage of women fall into the obesity category. In general, two thirds of the elderly Turkish community is overweight or obese.
One of the leading factors leading to a more sedentary life style in the workplace has been the replacement of physical effort with technology. With the passage to modern life, workers are less physically active, expend less energy, and tend to work at a desk and spend a lot of time in front of a computer; this causes unused energy to be stored in the body as fat which leads to obesity and various chronic complications with it. 10,11,12
When the data of WHO and scientific researches are investigated, it is seen that having balanced nutrition and regular physical activity are two of the most important measures that can be taken for avoiding overweight and obesity. 13,14
Research shows that physical activities that are done regularly lower the risk cardiovascular diseases and cancer and contributes positively to mental and emotional health. 15
It is known that those who spend their working lives at a desk move less due to their professional duties, that they used their muscles and joints less during their daily lives in an effective way, and that they are seldom able to do activities with the intensity that could increases heart-respiration speed. As a result, they are at risk of obesity.16,17,18 In addition, obese employees are at a higher risk of diseases and thus are not as efficient as the employees who are not obese.19
Those who work as academicians at the university are, by definition, desk workers since they deal with long, complex research activities that are necessary for a successful academic career; they use computers and spend their work time at their desk. This research has been planned and carried out to determine the impact of nutrition and physical activity levels on anthropometric measurement of blood glucose and blood lipids on academicians who at risk of obesity due to their sedentary life style.