OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of overweight and obesity and associated factors in employees of four Health Units in the municipality of Teresina, Piauí. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with proportionate stratified sampling of 207 day shift employees of Basic Healthcare Units of the city of Teresina, who were interviewed and classified according to their anthropometric data. Nutritional status was determined with body mass index and waist circumference was used to determine cardiovascular risk according to the distribution of body fat. RESULTS: The prevalence of excess weight was 53.72%, with 35.16% overweight and 17.70% obese. Overweight was more common among males (45.16%) and obesity among females (19.31%). The variables that were significantly associated with obesity were: age, job, parental obesity, income, smoking and waist circumference. CONCLUSION: The high rates of excess weight found among Healthcare Unit employees show that health actions to prevent and control obesity are needed to help reduce these indices and chronic disease rates.
body mass index; obesity; overweight
