The importance of nutrition and overweight as a risk factor in family medicine

Improper nutrition leads to changes in the body that are not only an aesthetic problem, but also lead to chronic diseases. The goals of the research are to analyze knowledge, habits and attitudes about nutrition and knowledge about obesity, to determine the body mass index (BMI) of all respondents, to analyze the connection between nutrition, excess body weight and the frequency of chronic non-communicable diseases. The study was cross-sectional epidemiological, descriptive-analytical, was conducted on a sample of 200 respondents of patients Family medicine, Public Health Center of the Sarajevo Canton. The survey was conducted by interviewing respondents using a modified questionnaire, made up of 27 questions. Analyzing the results, it was determined that the respondents' knowledge of nutrition is satisfactory, but that the majority of respondents (121) have a BMI over 25. For men in the age group of 46-55 years, the average BMI is 29.3, and for women in the same age group, it is 27. 5, which shows that they do not apply their own knowledge about nutrition. The majority of respondents (32%) whose BMI is over 25 have one or more chronic non-communicable diseases. Most respondents stated that they get information about proper nutrition through the media, although many of them suffer from some chronic diseases, they do not get information at the health center. In the family doctor's clinic, it is very important to recognize excess body weight, bad eating habits of patients in time, plan a prevention strategy, and prevent the further development of chronic diseases with professional counseling.