Perfil nutricional de usuários do Programa HIPERDIA em Ananindeua, Pará, Brasil

Objective : To investigate the nutritional profile and understand the dietary habits of patients in the HIPERDIA Program aiming to contribute to the discussion on disease prevention and health promotion in primary care. Methods: From August 2011 to February 2012, students and tutors of the “Programa de Educacao pelo Trabalho para a Saude” (PET-Saude) of the Federal University of Para interviewed 125 individuals with hypertension and/ or diabetes registered in the Family Health Strategy of “Jardim Florestal” and “Murure” in the municipality of Ananindeua, Para state. We applied a structured questionnaire containing questions about socio-economic profile, clinical data, habits, and life style related to patients’ food consumption. Results: Among the respondents, 65.6% were diabetics and 84.8% were hypertensive. Most of the respondents (81.6%) claimed that they had been following a diet to control hypertension or diabetes mellitus, especially with regard to salt, fat, and sugar reduction. Overweight (BMI greater than 24.9 kg/m²) was a predominant factor in the population analyzed (73.6% of the respondents). Conclusion: The research participants were not following an adequate diet requirement. In this context, it is necessary to improve nutritional monitoring and implement socio-educational preventive measures in order to control chronic non-transmissible diseases, thus ameliorating people’s quality of life.