Associations between shift work and empty calorie food/beverage consumption

Abstract

TPS 771: Diet and lifestyle, Exhibition Hall, Ground floor, August 26, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Background: Unhealthy eating behaviors may be a pathway by which shift work increases risk of chronic diseases. Recent studies have shown that people’s empty calorie food/beverage consumption can vary day-to-day based on their daily experiences. Yet, the majority of evidence focused on the between-person associations. Aim To examine within-person associations between shift work and daily empty calorie food/beverage consumption. Methods: A 14-day intensive longitudinal study design with ecological momentary assessment (EMA) was employed to collect information on empty calorie food/beverage consumption. During study period, participants were prompted to complete surveys on a smartphone four times daily. Daily empty calorie food/beverage consumption was assessed with a 21-item food checklist based on the top sources of empty calorie foods and beverages reported in the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Nutrition and the 2005-2008 Health Survey in Taiwan. The registry-based work schedule was employed as the primary approach to measure shift work. Person fixed-effect negative binomial regression models were used to examine within-person associations between shift work and empty calorie food/beverage consumption. Results: A total of 2,448 observations from 77 Taiwanese registered nurses were included in the final analysis. On days when working an evening shift (Adj. Coeff.: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.35) or a night shift (Adj. Coeff.: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.41), nurses’ empty calorie food/beverage consumptions were higher compared to days when working a day shift. However, shift work on a day was insignificantly associated with empty calorie food/beverage consumption on the following day. Conclusions: Findings in this study showed that shift work is concurrently associated with shift workers’ daily empty calorie food/beverage consumption. Shift work is unavoidable for certain types of industries (e.g., healthcare). Thus, strategies to improve shift workers’ eating behaviors on days when working on an evening or a night shift are warranted.