Prevalence and determinants of obesity and abdominal obesity among rural workers in Southeastern Brazil

The objectives of this study were to assess the nutritional status of rural workers from a municipality in Southeastern Brazil and estimate the association of sociodemographic, labor, lifestyle, and dietary pattern factors with obesity and abdominal obesity of men and women of this rural area. This is a cross-sectional, epidemiological study of 740 farmers (51.5%, n = 381 males; 48.5%, n = 359 females). The sociodemographic, labor, lifestyle and dietary patterns determinants were assessed. Food intake data were obtained by applying three 24-hour recalls and dietary patterns were determined by Principal Component Analysis with Varimax orthogonal rotation. Poisson regression with robust variance stratified by sex was applied. The general prevalence of overweight status was 31.5% (95% CI 28.2-34.8%), 19.7% of obesity (95% CI 16.8-22.6%) and 31.5% of abdominal obesity (95% CI 28.2-34.8%), with higher rates in women (P < 0.001). Men of higher socioeconomic class had a 2.3 times higher prevalence of obesity (95% CI 1.08-4.90). In addition, the shorter travel time to purchase food increased the prevalence of abdominal obesity in males. For women, the older the age group, the greater the general and central obesity. A lower adherence to traditional dietary patterns (approximately PR [prevalence ratio] 1.6 for general obesity and PR 1.3 for abdominal obesity) and a greater number of places to buy food were associated with higher rates of obesity in women. Finally, women farmers with a higher workload had a 20% lower prevalence of central obesity (PR 0.80; 95% CI 0.65-0.97). Such findings demonstrate that obesity must be an issue in the health care of remote and rural populations. There is a need to promote healthier environments that respect traditional food culture through multiple approaches that consider the heterogeneity of rural areas and the differences between sexes.