Nutritional Attitudes and Behaviors of Physicians, Mersin Province Study

INTRODUCTION: Nutrition is defined as providing and using in the body the nutrients needed to protect and improve health and improve the quality of life. Shift work and on-call duty are common among healthcare workers and are predicted to affect their eating habits. The purpose of our study is to investigate the nutrition attitudes and behaviors of physicians (medical doctors) in the sample of Mersin province.
METHODS: This study, planned as a cross-sectional type, was carried out in Mersin province between November 2020 and October 2021. With an online survey, participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and nutritional behaviors were evaluated using the Attitude Scale for Healthy Nutrition (ASHN).
RESULTS: A total of 275 physicians (137 men and 138 women) participated in the study, and the average age was found to be 48.0±10.2 years. About 50.6% of physicians were overweight, and 10.9% were obese. However, it was determined that 151 (54.9%) of the participants had received nutrition education before. When physicians daily consumption rates of basic food groups were examined, it was determined that the rate of inadequate intake was highest in the vegetable group (90.2%), 79.9% in the grain group, 77.2% in milk and dairy products, and 70.9% in the fruit group. According to nutritional attitude evaluations; it was found to be statistically significant that physicians whose age was 50 and above and who exercised regularly had higher scores on ASHN (p<0.05). In addition, the fast food consumption frequency of single physicians participating in our study was statistically higher than that of married physicians (p<0.001).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Although physicians’ ASHN scores regarding were a high, it was observed that there were inadequacies in their consumption according to food groups, and the number of physicians with high body mass index was high. The combination of malnutrition and intense workload can lead to a decrease in physicians’ quality of life and work efficiency in the long term, as well as an increase in chronic diseases.