OR19: Prevalence of Tachyphagia at Lunch and Associated Factors in 415 French Workers

Abstract

Rationale: Obesity is a worldwide public health problem. In France, prevalence of obesity is of 15.0%. The food behavior of French workers evolves with society and tachyphagia can promote weight gain. The aim of our work was to study the modalities of the lunch break and the link with obesity in French workers Methods: This prospective study was conducted from January to May 2016 in 5 departments of Occupational Medicine of the French region of Haute-ienne. With an anonymous self-questionnaire, declarative data concerning general information including weight and height with calculation of the body mass index (BMI) and the modalities of the lunch break including the time of meal were collected. Statistical analysis included Student t test, Chi2 and logistic regression. Results: Four hundred and fifteen workers with a mean age of 41.1 ± 12.6 years were included. The mean BMI was 23.8 ± 4.6kg/m 2 and the prevalence of obesity was of 15.9%. Tachyphagia (meal time <15 min) was found in 20.3%. In multivariate analysis, eating alone and eating fast food were positively associated with tachyphagia (OR = 4.59 [95% CI: 2.44 –9.08], p < 0.0001 and OR = 2.03 [95% CI: 1.10 – 3.70], p = 0.023, respectively) but also with obesity (OR = 2.14 [95% CI: 1.21 – 3.79]; p = 0.008 and OR = 2.40 [95% CI: 1.25 – 4.52], p = 0.009, respectively). But we did not found a significant association between tachyphagia and obesity. Conclusion: Our study provides important information on the modalities of lunch in French workers. Indeed, tachyphagia was found in 20%. It is essential to investigate the eating habits of workers during their meal break, especially in patients with excess of weight. The General Practitioner and the Occupational Medicine departments are therefore key players in the screening of nutritional disorders of workers.