Energy, Nutrient and Food Intakes of Male Shift Workers Vary According to the Schedule Type but Not the Number of Nights Worked

Abstract

Shift work is associated with increased risk of chronic diseases due to circadian rhythm disruptions and behavioral changes such as in eating habits. Impact of type of shifts and number of night shifts on energy, nutrient and food intake is as yet unknown. Our goal was to analyze shift workers’ dietary intake, eating behavior and eating structure, with respect to frequency of nights worked in a given week and seven schedule types. Eating habits and dietary intakes of 65 male shift workers were analyzed in three steps based on 365 24-h food records: (1) according to the number of nights, (2) in a pooled analysis according to schedule type, and (3) in search of an interaction of the schedule and the timing of intake. Mean nutrient and food group intake during the study period did not depend on the number of nights worked. Amount and distribution of energy intake as well as quality of food, in terms of nutrient and food groups, differed depending on the type of schedule, split night shifts and recovery day (day after night shift) being the most impacted. Shift workers’ qualitative and quantitative dietary intakes varied between different schedules, indicating the need for tailored preventive interventions.

Timing and Composition of Last Meal before Bedtime Affect Sleep Parameters of Night Workers

“…However, assessing sleep and dietary habits of night shift workers in real-life conditions, and evaluating the associations of meal timing and composition with both diurnal and nocturnal sleep, remain the main strengths of the study. Finally, the present study evaluated permanent night workers only, and hence results cannot be generalized to other types of shift workers [ 11 , 35 , 36 ].…”

“…Previous findings show that night workers tend to display poorer adherence to nutritional recommendations [ 9 ]. However, new evidence has suggested that controlling the timing of food intake represents a potential therapeutic approach in the context of preventing overweight and metabolic disorders [ 10 , 11 ]. Current trends indicate that this relationship, which is potentially mediated by sleep duration since childhood [ 12 ], is explained by the hypothesis that both sleep and metabolism share, and are modulated by, the same hypothalamic circuits [ 13 ].…”

“…A review on nutritional deficits of nursing professionals revealed that the food intake of night workers is governed more by working hours, i.e., opportunities to eat during the shift than by hunger [ 14 ]. Torre et al [ 11 ], in a recent evaluation of the eating habits of night workers, found that both the composition and timing of meals varied according to working hours, where the recovery day (after a night shift) proved the most affected. Also, a previous study has shown that meal content had a BMI-mediated effect on sleep, with obese workers the most affected [ 15 ].…”

4th Symposium on Occupational Safety and Health Proceedings Book

“…Consequently, cardiovascular disease, Gastrointestinal disorders, Breast cancer, Psychological disorder, i.e. development of chronic diseases affect a relatively young population, conditions put debilitated worker minded to accidents and injuries (Azmi et al, 2020;Nea et al, 2018;Della Torre et al, 2020). Eating habits also influenced by circadian rhythms, the process by which every man needs to adjust every 24 hours, which has been greatly affected by shift work in the process of food intake.…”

“…The food intake in shift work has been considered responsible for the increase in body mass index (BMI) due to the imbalance of glycemia in the body (Di Lorenzo et al, 2003;Stothard et al, 2020), which has caused obesity problems, resulting from increased intake of snacks on a night shift and saturated fat diet (Heath et al, 2016) (Geaney et al, 2013). In addition, the first hours of the daily meal have adverse effects on ensuing processes of regulating worker chron-nutrition (Della Torre et al, 2020). Irregular food consumption interferes with the adjustment of insulin secretion (responsible for regulating the sugar in the organism needed for energy in the cells), which interferes with workers' performance ( Strzemecka et al, 2014;Gupta et al, 2019;).…”