Abstract
The purpose of this research survey was to study the risky health behaviors in terms
of non-communicable diseases among government officers stationed in Long District,
Phrae Province. The research samples involved 864 government officers in that district.
Questionnaires and a screening protocol were used as the main instruments in collecting
the data, which were analyzed by descriptive statistics. The risk behaviors were as follows:
Smoking was 11.7 percent, alcohol consumption 50.3 percent, and physical inactivity
64.7 percent. For unhealthy diet behaviors, 30.2 percent of the subjects favored high
sugar diets, 18.2 percent favored high sodium diets and 3.8 percent high fat diets. For
traffic accident prevention, 37.4 percent seldom wore helmets or fastened the seat belts
in their vehicles. The results of the health screening revealed that the body mass index
indicating overweight or obesity was found in 54.4 percent of those surveyed, while
waist circumference that posed risks for obesity was found in 29.8 percent; by sex, these indicators were found in 31.8 percent of the male and 27.4 percent of the female officials.
It was also found that 38.3 percent of them were at risk of hypertension and 21.1 percent
had hypertension; 15.9 percent had excess blood sugar, making them prone to diabetes.
Overall health-risk behaviors of the government officers in Long District put them
at a high risk of developing non-communicable diseases (90.4 percent). It is urgent that
preventive measures be developed to alter the risky behaviors by introducing effective
health programs for these government officers so that they might avoid contracting noncommunicable
diseases.
