Introduction
Nutrition is both a physiological and psychosocial event and varies under many factors. Work The introduction should state why the study was carried out and what the specific aims of the study were, its importance and goals Life plays highly important roles in eating style and individuals’ working conditions affect their health. Work intensity and its related stress have impacts on individuals’ nutrition. When a person do not keep a balanced diet, their health gets worse, their resistance to diseases reduce, their attention decreases, their movements slow down, their absence from work increases, required productivity is not given and production goes down. Nutrition problems are resulted in workday losses, occupational diseases, occupational accidents and increasing health expenses.
The improvement of services in the health area has been essential for the progress of the quality of life, as well as for the improvement in the competence of teachers’ work. In the area of education, an increase in the number of health-related injuries relating to characteristics of work requirements has been well documented in faculty of Colleges. One of these factors is obesity, defined by the accumulation of adipose tissue, caused by several factors, such as sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity, excessive and unhealthy food intake. Women Professors usually do not perform their meals correctly, as well as perform physical activities with little regularity which predispose them for overweight and/or obesity. In this sense, it is necessary to carry out studies that evaluate the nutritional status of women professors, which can be affected due to the exhaustive work routine. It is hypothesized that academic health professors may present low rate of health related problems due to high health literacy; Considering the health behaviours of women professors, since they are the backbone of family and society and least bothered about their own health and nutritional status and highly considering their families health and nutrition.
Measuring body-composition provides a quantitative description of the amount and distribution of fat, muscle, bone, and water in the body and helps identify areas to work on to improve overall physical health and fitness level. The bioelectrical impedance (BIA), which measures the opposition to the flow of a weak electric current through electrodes attached to the hands and feet of a subject, is one of the most precise and reliable techniques for measuring body composition.1
Hence, Nutritional assessment and body composition analysis of women faculty is framed and carried out with the following objectives
Objectives
Study the nutritional status of women faculty in Arul Anandar College
Assess the Height, weight, BMI, Waist Circumference, Hip circumference, WHR, subcutaneous fat % and skeletal % in whole body, trunk, arm and leg, Body fat %, visceral fat %, resting metabolism, body age of women faculty were assessed using omron karada scan body composition monitor.
Assess the biochemical parameters like blood haemoglobin of the women faculty
Statistically analyse the data’s.
Subjects and Methods
This research was done at the Arul Anandar College, Karumathur, Madurai. From this college, total 50 women faculty were agreed to participate in the study and so the sampling group consisted of them. For carrying out this research, the institution and the participants were received approval.2
Body composition measurements
Height and body weight measurement
The participants’ body weights were measured with the omron karada scan body composition monitor (model HBF-375) as kilogram, their heights were measured with a rigid measure as well. Height measurements were done without shoes, feet next to each other.
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is the ratio of the body weight in kilograms (kg) by the square of height in meters (BMI= weight (kg) / height (m2). Their height was entered in the omron karada scan body composition monitor.
Estimation of body fat percentage
Body fat percentage was determined with the omron karada scan body composition monitor. Waist-hip ratio (WHR).
Waist circumference was measured from the thinnest part of the area between the lowest rib and crista iliac. Hip circumference was measured from the trochanter major. From both measurement results, waist-hip ratio was estimated. WHO’ waist-hip ratio reference values; waist circumference in females ≥80 cm, risk of metabolic complication, in females ≥88 cm high risk of metabolic complication, waist - hip ratio in females ≥0.85 cm high risk of metabolic complication.
Subcutaneous fat
Subcutaneous fat is the fat visible just under the skin. Subcutaneous fat is normally harmless and may even protect against some diseases. Visceral fat is fat that surrounds the organs. It is possible to lose both subcutaneous and visceral fat.3
Skeletal muscle mass
Skeletal Muscle Mass is an important component reflecting the human body’s long-term health, which is responsible for posture, mobility, and strong immunity. A body-composition analyzer gives precise numerical estimates of segmental (i.e., upper limbs, trunk, and lower limbs) and total contents of Skeletal Muscle Mass.
Resting metabolism
Resting metabolic rate is the total number of calories burned when body is completely at rest. It supports breathing, circulating blood, organ functions, and basic neurological functions. It is proportional to lean body mass and decreases approximately 0.01 kcal/min for each 1% increase in body fatness. Average Resting metabolic rate of women is1400 kcal.
Body fat
Body Fat is a more correct measure of human health than body weight or BMI since it quantifies the exact fat content of the viscera and total body weight. It is estimated for a healthy body fat level, PBF should be within 18 — 28% for females.
Visceral fat
Visceral fat is stored in a person’s abdominal cavity and is also known as ‘active fat’ as it influences how hormones function in the body. An excess of visceral fat can have potentially dangerous consequences. Because visceral fat is in the abdominal cavity, it is close to many vital organs, such as the pancreas, liver, and intestines. The higher the amount of visceral fat a person stores, the more at risk they are for certain health complications, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.4
Results
A Nutritional anthropometry of the selected women faculty
The anthropometric measurements namely height, weight, waist and hip circumference were recorded and Body Mass Index (BMI), and Waist hip ratio were calculated and body composition parameters such as subcutaneous fat % (whole body, trunk, arm, leg), skeletal % (whole body, trunk, arm, leg), resting metabolism, body fat, visceral fat, body age was determined using omron karada scan body composition monitor for all the 50 women faculty and used for assessing the nutritional status.
Mean height
The mean height of women faculty is given in Table 1.
Mean weight
The mean weight of women faculty are given in Table 2.
Table 2
Mean weight (kg) of women faculty (n=50).
|
Weight (kg) |
Number |
Per cent |
ICMR* Standard |
|
41-50 |
2 |
4 |
55 |
|
51-60 |
13 |
26 |
|
|
61-70 |
17 |
34 |
|
|
71-80 |
12 |
24 |
|
|
81-90 |
3 |
6 |
|
|
>91 |
3 |
6 |
|
|
Total |
50 |
100 |
[i] With regard to the weight measurements, 4 per cent of women faculty had their weight in the range of 41-50 kg. Twenty per cent of them had their weight range in the range of 51-60 kg. Mainly 34 per cent of them had their weight in the range of 61-70 kg and 24 per cent of them had their weight in the range of 71-80 kg. It was shocking to note that around 6 per cent of them had their body weight in the range of 81-90 kg and above 91 kg respectively.
Body mass index
The Body Mass Index is used to assess how much a weight departs from what is normal or desirable for a person of his or her height. The WHO regards a BMI of less than 18.5 as underweight and may indicate malnutrition, an eating disorder, or other health problems, while a BMI greater than 25 is considered overweight and above 30 is considered obese (WHO 2013). BMI was computed using height and weight and classified on the basis of NIN Methodologies (2011) and given in Table 3.
Table 3
BMI grades of the selected women faculty (n-50)
[ii] According to BMI values the obesity grades were recorded from normal to obese class III. The above table reveals that around 28 per cent were in the normal grade of BMI. Fifty two per cent were in the Overweight/pre obese category which is considered as “At risk of obesity", It is to be noted that 14 per cent were in the mild obesity class I category, 4 per cent were in the mild obesity class II category and 2 per cent of were in the obesity class III category.
Waist to hip ratio
The following Table 4 presents the Waist to hip ratio as per the classification for normal and obese grades of the selected women faculty.1
Body composition analysis
Body Composition Analysis of women faculty is given in Table 5.
Table 5
Body composition.
Table 6
Mean haemoglobin (g/dl) of women faculty (n=50).
|
Age Group (years) |
n |
Standard Values* (g/dl) |
Mean Haemoglobin (g/dl) |
|
25-34 |
18 |
12 |
12.09 ± 0.5 |
|
35-44 |
29 |
12 |
11.45 ± 1.42 |
|
45-54 |
3 |
12 |
11.9 ± 0.21 |
Table 7
Grouping of children according to degree of anemia (n=50).
Figure 2 None of the women faculty were severely anaemic, while 22 per cent of 25-34 years and 44 per cent of 35-44 years and 4 per cent of 45-54 years were normal. About 10 per cent of 25-34 years and 35-44 years, 2 per cent of 45-54 years were mildly anaemic. About 4 per cent of 25-34 years and 35-44 years respectively were moderately anaemic. On the whole 70 per cent of the women faculty were normal, 22 per cent were mildly anaemic, remaining 4 per cent were moderately anaemic.5, 6
Table 5 The height of the subjects in three age groups ranged between 147.5-165.7, 148.0-168.0 and 143.0-145.5 cm with mean values of 157.52, 157.24 and 144.2 cm respectively. The weight of the subjects in three age groups ranged between 40.5-113.6, 48.7-91.3 and 50.0-60.7 kg with mean values of 71.84, 66.75 and 55.35 kg, respectively. BMI of the women faculty were 29.14, 27.09 and 26.65 respectively shows that they are overweight when compared to an ideal BMI of <25 kg/m2. The mean waist circumference of the subjects in three age groups was 87.52, 86.70 and 83.50cm, respectively. Similarly, 45-54 yrs age group had lesser waist circumference when compared to other age groups. The waist-to-hip ratio was maximum in 45-54 yrs age group followed by 35-44 years age group and 25-34 years age group. The ideal waist-to-hip ratio for women should be <0.8, the subjects, in all age groups had waist-to-hip ratio close to the ideal values. Body fat above 30% is excess fat and above 40% is high body fat risk, according to this, most of the women faculty in all age groups have excess and high body fat risk. Visceral fat at 1-12% is healthy and 13- 59 % is excessive according to this, most of the women faculty in all age groups have healthy visceral fat levels.7
Discussion
The prevalance of obesity has been increasing all over the world day by day. When BMI reaches 25 and over it, the risks of hypertension, type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and cardiovascular diseases concerning the obesity degree show increases. According to the Turkey Nutrition and Health Research 2010 results, BMI average was found to be 28.9±6.4 in females. Berkel’s research showed that the participant female academic staff’s BMI average was 22.89.8
The waist circumference and waist/hip ratio are used for the risk evaluation in chronical diseases among the adults. The waist/hip ratio assses abdominal obesity. Abdominal obesity is more closely related with metabolic complications rather than BMI. According to the Turkey Nutrition and Health Research 2010 results, the waist circumference was over, >88 cm in 53.9% of females. This research determined that the females’ waist circumference was 78.99±11.21. Also, the females’ waist/hip ratio was 0.82±0.12, in our study. The result of the study shows the metabolic complication.
The waist/height ratio is seemed to be a better scale rather than the waist circumference and BMI in scanning cardio metabolic risk factors in adults. When the waist circumference / height ratio is over 0.5 and below 0.4, the metabolic disease risk occurs. According to the Turkey Nutrition and Health Research 2010 results, the waist/height ratio was 0.59 in females aged 19 and over, 0.55 in males. From this research, it was seen that waist/height ratios of all workers were over 0.50. So it can be said that all personnels under the risk of metabolic disease.
Regular activities have positive effects on body composition as well as health. Energy expenditures develop due to activities, so decreases are seen in body weight and other measurements. Özenoğlu et al. suggested that the females’ waist-height ratio was 0.52±0.7 before exercises, it was 0.51±0.6 after exercises in their research about females.
