Nutritional status, eating habits and physical exercise among women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a hormonal disorder with a multifactorial cause that can cause several metabolic problems, so a healthy lifestyle is important to avoid complications resulting from the syndrome. Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status, eating habits and physical exercise of women with the syndrome. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study, carried out from the medical records of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome at the Adult Nutrition Outpatient Clinic of the Federal University of Pelotas, assisted between 2016 and 2022. The nutritional status was evaluated based on the body mass index, waist and neck circumference. As for eating habits, the frequency of consumption of fruits, vegetables, simple sugar, sweets and whole foods was analyzed. Regarding physical exercise, the type, intensity and time of practice were observed. Results and discussion: 47 patients participated in the study, of which 23.4% had hypertension and 17% had diabetes or pre-diabetes. According to the nutritional status, a high prevalence of obesity was found from all parameters evaluated. According to eating habits, 56.5% and 48.9% of women did not consume fruits and vegetables daily; on the other hand, 47.8% and 33.3% consumed sugar and sweets every day. Still, 63.8% of the women did not consume whole foods. As for physical exercise, only 28.3% of the patients practiced it, 69.3% of which walked. Conclusion: Most patients were obese, had inadequate eating habits and had little adherence to physical exercise.