Fish consumption and lifestyle: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: regular fish consumption has been associated with health benefits and prevention of risk factors of chronic diseases; however, consumption is heterogeneous worldwide. Consumption is higher among populations that have fish as a traditional food or among people who tend to adopt a more active and healthy lifestyle. Objectives: to evaluate the level of physical activity and perception of life quality among groups with higher and lower frequency of fish consumption. Material and methods: quantitative and cross-sectional study carried out via the Internet using the WHOQOL-bref tools to assess perception of life quality. The IPAQ short version normal week was used to evaluate the level of physical activity and proper tool to assess fish consumption. The frequency of fish consumption stratified into two groups (higher and lower frequency) was used as predictor variable. As outcome variable, it was considered the perception of life quality and level of physical activity among groups. Results: the group of participants with the highest fish consumption presented better perception of life quality and are more physically active. Discussion and conclusion: the results reinforces that regular fish consumption may be related to healthier lifestyle that, consequently, lead to a better perception of life quality.