Health in the Right Measure: Promoting Healthy Food and Regular Physical Activity Practice for UFRJ Servers

The initial goal of the project is to serve approximately thirty UFRJ servers at each edition. The project will be developed in up to two annual editions over a period of five years. After the selection of the candidates, an ambitious meeting will be held with all the participants in order to clarify the objectives and the other stages of the project.

Participants will then be scheduled for laboratory tests and consultations for medical evaluation (exercise test), nutritional assessment and physical evaluation. The anthropometric evaluation will be performed according to previously established protocols. Measurements of body weight, height and waist, abdominal, neck and hip circumference will be performed. The evaluation of the body composition will be performed using the multi-frequency electrical bioimpedance apparatus (Biodynamics® model 450). The usual food consumption quality will be evaluated through dietary records of 3 days (typical 2 days and 1 atypical). In order to evaluate the possible changes in the routine of physical activity practice, the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) will be used in short form. The nutritional consultations will be carried out by nutritionists in the Nutritional Assessment Laboratory (NAL) of the Josué de Castro Nutrition Institute (JCNI).

Blood samples will be collected at the Laboratory of Clinical Analysis of the Faculty of Pharmacy of UFRJ or at the Clinical Pathology Service of the University Hospital Clementino Fraga Filho by properly trained personnel with disposable materials. Blood samples will be collected after a 12 hour fasting for analysis of the complete blood count, lipidogram, liver enzymes (aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase), glycemia, glycated hemoglobin, free thyroxine and thyroid stimulating hormone.

After performing these evaluations, an individualized physical exercise program will be proposed according to each participant's level of physical activity and health conditions. Participants will also receive individualized nutritional guidance. In case of failure in the stress test the participant will not be able to participate in the physical exercise program, however, he will be invited to remain in activities aimed at promoting healthy eating habits.

Throughout the project, collective motivational activities will be carried out to promote healthy eating (culinary workshops, talk wheels and others) and individual activities with all participants, in order to evaluate the adherence of nutritional guidelines and to exchange experiences among them.

At the end of the project intervention period (12 weeks), the participants will again be submitted to laboratory examination and nutritional assessment: anthropometric and body composition evaluation and evaluation of changes in eating habits.

A collective closure meeting will be held at the end of the project intervention stage and all participants will be informed and will have access to the results of their evaluations to date.

In the next six months participants will be invited to monthly motivational collective activities (sporting challenges, conversation wheel, culinary workshop) as a way to stimulate them to maintain routine physical activities and changes in eating habits.

At the end of three months after the end of the intervention period (6 months of follow-up), the participants will be submitted to nutritional assessment. At the end of the six months after the end of the intervention period, the participants will be submitted to the same evaluations performed three months after the intervention.

Inclusion criteria

• Be a server of UFRJ
• Be able to practice some regular physical activity
• Be willing to participate in the proposed activities.

Exclusion criteria

• N/A