PD590 - SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR, ANTHROPOMETRIC PROFILE, AND CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK IN UNIVERSITY STAFF: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

PD590

SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR, ANTHROPOMETRIC PROFILE, AND CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK IN UNIVERSITY STAFF: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

L. Álvarez-Córdova ¹, V. Sierra-Nieto¹, N. Giler-Párraga², C. Arteaga-Pazmiño³, E. Frias-Toral^4,5,*

¹Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Catolica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, ²Maestría de nutrición y dietética, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, ³Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, ⁴School of Medicine, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondon, Ecuador, ⁵Division of Research, Texas State University, San Marcos, United States

Rationale: Modern sedentary lifestyles and prolonged working hours increase the risk of non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to categorize physical activity (PA) levels and assess the anthropometric and clinical profiles, including self-perceived diet quality, of a captive university workforce comprising faculty and administrative staff.

Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional study with 305 participants (174 faculty and 131 administrative staff). Participants were eligible if they were adults with complete sociodemographic and clinical information, including age, sex, self-reported anthropometric variables (weight and height), body mass index (BMI), years of service, educational level, presence of comorbidities, consumption habits (tobacco and alcohol), sleep duration, family responsibilities, dietary perception, and PA assessment using the validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form. Statistical analyses included descriptive measures. Comparisons between groups were performed using chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and Spearman’s correlation tests, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results: The mean BMI of the cohort was 27.6 kg/m², indicating a predominance of overweight, despite 70.2% of participants self-reporting a “healthy” diet. Marked physical inactivity was observed, with 42.3% of the sample classified as having a low PA level and 30.8% reporting fewer than 5,000 steps per day, consistent with sedentary behavior. In addition, 29.5% of the population reported cardiometabolic comorbidities, mainly hypertension (19.3%) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (5.9%). No statistically significant differences in PA levels were found between faculty and administrative staff (p = 0.510).

Conclusion: A significant discrepancy was observed between self-perceived healthy dietary habits and the objective evidence of prevalent overweight and sedentary behavior. 

Disclosure of Interest: None declared