Differences in Dietary Habits, Physical Exercise, and Quality of Life between Male and Female Patients with...

Overweight can be an additional problem in patients admitted to hospital.

To analyze gender differences in pre-admission dietary habits and physical exercise and in HRQoL at hospital discharge among hospitalized adults with overweight.

Cross-sectional study in non-diabetic patients enrolled in a clinical trial with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 Kg/m² at admission. Bivariate analyses used Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test for qualitative variables and the Mann-Whitney test for numerical variables.

The study included 148 males and 127 females. At admission, women had higher BMI (p = 0.016) than men and a larger percentage consumed drugs for depression (p = 0.030) and anxiety (p = 0.049), and followed a religion-based diet (p = 0.022). Pre-admission, women had healthier habits related to dietary caloric intake (p = 0.009) and greater adherence to recommendations for a healthy diet (p = 0.001). At discharge, women described worse self-perceived health (p = 0.044) and greater pain/discomfort (p = 0.004) in comparison to men.

Pre-admission, women had better habits related to a healthy diet and did not differ from men in habits related to physical exercise but had a higher BMI. At discharge, women reported worse self-perceived health and greater pain/discomfort. These differences should be considered for the adequate clinical management of patients with overweight.