Nutritional status and eating habits of bus drivers during the day and night

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare anthropometry and food intake patterns in bus drivers working during the day and night. One hundred and fifty males (81 night workers and 69 day workers) participated in the study. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Measurements of height, weight, waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipid profile were obtained. A significant difference between groups was observed for mean WC (98.5 ± 10.7 cm in day workers versus 103.2 ± 9.7 cm in night workers; p = 0.005). Night workers had higher prevalence of being overweight and obese (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m(2)) than day workers (78.2% day workers versus 90.2% night workers; p = 0.004) and increased WC (>94 cm) (72.4% day workers versus 86.4% night workers; p = 0.03). Significant differences were found for meat consumption (2.3 servings ±0.9 for night workers versus 2.0 servings ±0.7 day workers, p = 0.04) and fruit intake (0.9 servings ±0.4 for night workers versus 0.7 servings for day workers ±0.5; p = 0.006). Night workers had a lower intake of vegetables than recommended compared to day workers (100 versus 92.7%, respectively, p = 0.01) and higher intake of oil (40.7 versus 24.6%, p = 0.03). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that night work was associated with being overweight (OR = 2.94, 95% IC: 1.14-7.66, p = 0.03) and abnormal values of WC (OR = 2.82, 95% IC: 1.20-6.69, p = 0.009) after adjusting for potential confounders. It is concluded that night workers had a higher prevalence and risk of being overweight/obese and increased WC compared with day workers. Night workers also presented a higher proportion of inappropriate intakes of food groups when compared to day workers, even though both groups were eating poor diets. These results demonstrate the need of lifestyle-intervention programs in these workers.

Shift workers have a similar diet quality but higher energy intake than day workers

“…Shift workers were also found to have a lower intake of fruits and vegetables (17,18), fiber (19) and some vitamins and minerals (eg, vitamin B, C, magnesium) (19) than day workers. In contrast, one study has shown a higher consumption of fruits for shift workers in comparison with day workers (20), and other studies showed no differences for fruits and vegetables (21), vitamin C (18) and fiber (18,22).…”

“…Most of these studies also lacked adjustment for major confounders, such as age (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). Another important drawback is that the available studies focused on single nutrients or foods (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). For a comprehensive evaluation of differences in dietary intake, it is important to study dietary patterns because different nutrients and foods have additive and synergistic interactions (25).…”

“…Overall dietary pattern scores, such as the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) or the World Health Organization (WHO)-based Healthy Diet Index (HDI), provide a broad picture of diet quality (25), and higher scores are associated with a lower risk of metabolic disturbances and chronic diseases (26,27). In addition, a higher energy intake (ie, quantity of food) has also been associated with body weight gain and other metabolic disturbances (20,28). Therefore, we hypothesized that shift workers have a poorer overall diet quality and higher energy intake than day workers.…”

Meal irregularity and cardiometabolic consequences: results from observational and intervention studies

“…Another study of twenty-eight Brazilian shift workers found circadian rhythmicity of energy consumed by night workers but only during the summer (26) . A study on anthropometry and food intake patterns in bus drivers in Brazil reported higher proportions of inappropriate feeding practices, excess weight and abdominal obesity amongst drivers who worked night shifts (27) . So far, few studies have specifically investigated how consuming at a particular time of day relates to overall dietary intake in human subjects (28,29) .…”

21st International Symposium on Shiftwork and Working Time: The 24/7 Society – From chronobiology to practical life

“…Studies presented in this Special Issue provide new evidence of possible underlying mechanisms. Balieiro et al (2014) compared anthropometry and food intake patterns in bus drivers working during the day and night and found a high prevalence of inappropriate feeding practices, excess weight and abdominal obesity among drivers of both groups, but most of the observed problems were more associated with drivers on night work than day work. These results suggest that a night work schedule can lead to nutritional and metabolic problems that are associated with high morbidity and mortality, such as obesity and its associated comorbidities.…”