Older worker nutrient intake and recommendation compliance

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity/overweight among workers is increasing. As older individuals are remaining in the workforce longer, it is important to identify nutritional factors that could result in poor health outcomes. We examined nutrient intake and BMI of older workers compared to older non-workers.

Methods: Data from the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were pooled for individuals aged 65+ with employment status and 24-hour-dietary recall information (N=2,378). Means for nutrients were compared using unpaired t-tests. Compliance with Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) recommendations was assessed by calculating prevalences and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI), adjusting for sampling weights and design effects.

Results: The majority of workers (mean age: 69 years) and non-workers (72 years) were overweight or obese (92.4%; mean BMI: 35.9kg/m2[SE=1.4] vs. 93.35%; 36.7kg/m2[1.4], respectively). Workers relative to non-workers consumed less retinol (mean: 423.7mcg[105.9] vs. 471.3mcg[107.2]; p=0.005) and more vitamin E (10.7mg[1.1] vs. 9.6mg[1.2]; p=0.001), but had similarly high sugar (117.2g[13.4] vs. 112.3g[14.2]; p=0.12) and similarly low fiber (21.2g[2.3] vs. 20.1g[2.40]) intakes. There were small significant but not clinically relevant differences in the intake of fat, magnesium, zinc, copper, sodium, and potassium. Less than half of workers met the DRI for fiber (36.1%; 95%CI: 9.6-75.1), vitamin C (42.3%; 17.9-71.1), and calcium (40.5%; 15.8-71.7) which may lead to nutrient deficiencies.

Conclusion: Older workers and older non-workers generally had comparable diets/high BMI with inadequate overall nutrient intake, particularly for fiber, vitamin C, and calcium. Worksite health promotion should target older workers and community outreach can correct inadequacies for non-workers.