Medidas de prevenção e tratamento da obesidade em militares: uma revisão narrativa da literatura

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Obesity is defined as the excessive accumulation of fat in such a way that it can harm health and is associated with a greater risk of developing the deadliest diseases worldwide. Its increasing rates make it be considered a pandemic and its harmful effects affect the population, including the military parcel. In view of the concern with the drop in staff readiness and the excessive costs involved with the consequences of obesity, it is important to study measures for its prevention and treatment. AIM: The present study aimed, through a literature review, investigating measures to prevent and treat obesity in military personnel. METHOD: A narrative review, with systematic search of the US National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE), Web of Science and Scopus scientific databases in February 2021. The descriptors "prevention & control", "obesity" and "military personnel" were used, as well as their synonyms. In addition to these articles found, studies that had the same theme were included. There was no language filter or time limit for a search. RESULTS: A total of 354 articles were identified after an electronic database search and 16 works were manually entered. After screening citations, 357 did not meet the inclusion criteria and were excluded. 13 studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. CONCLUSION: The reviewed articles demonstrate that the application of measures to prevent and treat obesity occurs, mostly, when the military does not meet the limits established for anthropometric indices, especially BMI and body fat percentage. Due to the multiple components of obesity, an effective method for its treatment has been to approach, through multidisciplinary teams of professionals, the following aspects: the practice of low-intensity physical activities, as they are more compatible with the physical capabilities of obese military personnel; monitoring and guidance by nutritionists, as a way to promote nutrition education, in order to teach individuals about the selection and preparation of food in a healthy way; and behavioral change, through the adoption of better lifestyle habits, allowing the maintenance of the lost weight to be prolonged for a longer period, not being restricted to the period of the intervention application. Finally, it was observed that most of the studies that were successful addressed interventions that used models of protocol programs, as they are more easily applicable to groups of individuals, such as obese military personnel.