Global prevalence of overweight and obesity among health care workers: a systematic review protocol

This systematic review aims to determine the global pooled prevalence of overweight and obesity among health care workers in the 6 World Health Organization regions.

The escalating prevalence of overweight and obesity among health care workers significantly affects both individual health and the quality of health care services. Understanding this global prevalence is crucial to be able to implement informed interventions and policies, and for the overall optimization of health care delivery.

Observational studies with prevalence data for overweight and obesity among health care workers in both private and public health care facilities will be considered for inclusion. Transparent documentation of anthropometric measurements and adherence to established overweight and obesity criteria by the WHO, Asia Pacific standards, or Asian criteria are required to be eligible for inclusion. The review will focus on observational study designs, including cross-sectional, survey, case-control, and cohort studies.

PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection will be searched for records with predefined keywords, including MeSH terms. Records found through hand-searching and reference lists will be added. Two researchers will independently screen studies, resolving any discrepancies with a third researcher. Standardized critical appraisal and data extraction forms will be used. If suitable, pooled prevalence for overweight and obesity based on the 6 WHO regions will be calculated using the DerSimonian-Laird random-effects model. Statistical analysis will be performed and publication bias will be assessed through funnel plot analysis using either Egger, Begg, or Harbord test.

PROSPERO CRD42023452330.