8279478 The food environment at work: schedule inflexibility

<h3>Objective</h3> The workplace food environment is understudied, especially the effect of schedule conditions such as irregular meal breaks and time pressure during the shift on dietary behaviors. We examined the ability of U.S. nursing home workers to manage the timing of their food intake, in relation to temporal job features (e.g., total work hours, shift assignment), and its association with specific eating behaviors. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> A total of 2,642 workers responded to a self-administered survey, including questions about meal break frequency and duration during the work shift. Three items (enough time to eat; able to eat when desired; and knowing in advance when that would be) were summed to form a ‘meal schedule inflexibility’ index. Cross-sectional associations of the index with dietary behaviors were assessed with multivariable regression. <h3>Results</h3> Between 40% and 50% of survey respondents answered ‘sometimes’ or less often to each meal schedule item. The index was somewhat correlated (but not redundant) with standard indicators of job demands and decision latitude. The index was higher (i.e., less time to eat, less choice about when) among those working longer shifts and evening or night shifts. Meal inflexibility was weakly associated with lower consumption of fruit and vegetables, an important indicator of healthy diet. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Time constraints on eating, measured with this simple index, appear very common in healthcare. Future investigations might assess whether other work schedule elements should be added to the index; the prevalence of meal schedule inflexibility in other sectors; whether or not it impacts specific eating behaviors; and whether it influences the effectiveness of workplace dietary interventions. <h3>Funding</h3> Funded by NIOSH grant # U19-OH008857.