Jamaican service club members beliefs about some chronic diseases (Part II) - abstract

RESUMO

This survey sets out to examine Jamaican Service Club members' beliefs about prevention strategies for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and obesity; the prevalence of modifiable risk factors and to estimate self-reported cardiovascular risk. Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary Club members completed questionnaires which assessed their knowledge of specific strategies to prevent hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and obesity. Service clubs in Kingston, Jamaica were sampled at their regular monthly meetings. Among the 320 members, 253 were males, 67 were females and the majority (61.4 per cent) of respondents had attended university. Respondents demonstrated moderate to high accuracy in their ability to identify prevention strategies for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and obesity. The majority of respondents (85.9 per cent) reported normal blood pressure levels, and a non-smoking habit (84.8 per cent). However, as many as 31.8 per cent of respondents indicated that their blood cholesterol levels had never been measured. More females (49.3 per cent) than males (27.0 per cent) had never measured their blood cholesterol level. Despite widespread awareness of the importance of exercise for decreasing the risk of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and obesity, only 36.7 per cent of males and 27.3 per cent of females participated in aerobic activity three times a week. Since exercise appears to be the limiting factor for improving cardiovascular health, programme planners who seek to improve cardiovascular health among service club members need to offer effective strategies for translating individuals' knowledge about the importance of exercise into a personal fitness programme. The highest cardiovascular risk score was derived by those who never participated in aerobic exercise (1.13), compared to those who exercised three times a week (.66). Maximum cardiovascular score was 3.5, minimum 0.0. Those who had attempted to lose weight within six months of the survey (1.00) had a significantly higher risk score than those who had never attempted weight loss (.56) (p<.05), suggesting that chronic dieters were largely unsuccessful at achieving permanent weight loss. Females (.93) had a higher cardiovascular risk compared to males (.77), although the difference was not statistically significant. History of attempted weight loss and aerobic exercise were the only significant predictors of cardiovascular risk