Abstract
Background: Literature focuses on the well-being of patients and little on the wellbeing
of nurses who, in turn, should be educated about well-being. On the other hand, the latter
often work under serious pressure with inadequate resources and shift organizations, exposing
them to health risk factors.
Objective: To highlight which relationships exist between diet, physical activity, body mass index
(BMI) and mental health in nursing.
Methods: The author searched the Medline (PubMed) database for medical subheadings terms
and free full text referred to “Diet,” “Mental Health,” “Physical Activity,” and “Nurses” before
31st December 2020.
Results: A total of 11 studies were included in this perspective review, which better defined the
relationships between diet, physical activity, mental health and the nursing profession.
Conclusion: From the studies present in the literature, it emerges that the nursing profession has
an inherent imbalance in the regular circadian activity of human nature, as nursing assistance is
provided 24 hours a day and during the night. Numerous studies have highlighted significant
differences between mental and eating disorder levels among nurses who work at night versus
those who only work during the day. Therefore, it is possible to speak of the nursing profession
as an “inductive inflammatory-chronic” activity based on the extensive scientific evidence
provided by the literature.
Keywords:
Body mass index, diet, inflammation, mental health, physical activity, nurses.
Graphical Abstract
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