TRANSITIONS, INCIDENCE, AND CONCORDANCE OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND ABDOMINAL OBESITY: AN ANALYSIS OF AN OCCUPATIONAL COHORT

Vera-Ponce V.J.; Zuzunaga-Montoya F.E.; Vásquez-Romero L.E.M.; Loayza-Castro J.A.; Sanchez-Tamay N.M.; Bustamante-Rodríguez J.C.; Gutierrez De Carrillo C.I. · Revista de la Asociacion Espanola de Especialistas en Medicina del Trabajo (2025)

Resumen

Introduction: Joint assessment of Body Mass Index (BMI) and Abdominal Obesity (AO) could provide a better understanding of their transitions among workers. Objective: To evaluate the incidence of nutritional status transitions according to BMI and AO in a worker cohort, and to analyze their concordance and sex-based differences. Material and Methods: A retrospective cohort study based on occupational medical evaluations conducted between 2013-2022. Transitions between BMI categories (normal weight, overweight, obesity) and abdominal obesity categories (normal, elevated, very elevated) were analyzed. Incidence rates per 1,000 person-years were calculated, and concordance between anthropometric measures was assessed. Results: High persistence of initial nutritional status was found, increasing with risk category (normal weight 69.2%, overweight 76.7%, obesity 84.7%). For BMI, overweight showed a higher tendency to revert to normal weight than to progress to obesity (8.2% vs. 15.2%), while for AO, elevated risk was more likely to improve than worsen (26.0% vs. 10.7%). Most participants (61.9%) maintained concordance between both measures, with minor discordances in transitions (12.0% worsened only in BMI, 8.3% only in AO). Conclusions: This study demonstrates high stability in workers’ nutritional status, especially in higher-risk categories. Substantial concordance between BMI and AO transitions was observed, with predominantly synchronous and gradual changes between adjacent categories. Based on these findings, we recommend implementing occupational nutritional surveillance programs that include both anthropometric measures, with more frequent monitoring in high-risk groups and focus on early preventive interventions, given the low frequency of reversion in adverse states.

Instituciones: Universidad Continental; Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas