Abordagem e ações à obesidade na prática do nutricionista da atenção primária à saúde na Paraíba

Abstract

Due to its high capillarity, proximity to people's lives and implementation of the family health strategy, primary health care represents a space with potential in the challenge of preventing and managing obesity. Thus, the complexity of obesity requires from the nutritionist, the use of practices that contemplate the individual and collective context, considering the multiple factors that condition obesity and interfere in the treatment, using strategies that are recommended as a way of helping in the management of this disease. . The study aimed to describe the strategies of approach and actions aimed at people with obesity and to identify the main outcomes of the practices offered by nutritionists who work in primary health care in the state of Paraíba. Data collection was carried out from July to September 2020, using a self-administered online questionnaire, consisting of 70 questions. Descriptive statistics with frequency distribution was applied. Most nutritionists are part of the teams of the Extended Nucleus of Family Health and Primary Care (77.8%). The most prevalent practices were offered to the individual (99.3%), followed by the community (66%) and group (48.1%). A variety of approaches and actions are offered within the scope of health promotion, prevention of comorbidities and management of obesity. The most frequent are the association with the practice of physical activity (26.6%), the formation of guidance groups or healthy eating and physical activity (32.5%) and actions to promote adequate and healthy eating (42, 8%) to different subjects of the approach, individual, group and community, respectively. The control of comorbidities was considered by nutritionists as the main outcome (16.1%) of the interventions, by all levels of the subject of the approach. The findings seem to point to biomedical practices still present, such as focusing on the individual and the disease, such as comorbidities, and on the methods of carrying out the actions, but an increase in initiatives for comprehensive health care was also found. It highlights the importance of NASF-AB in redirecting the performance of the nutritionist, implying new practices in Primary Health Care.