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.