Work Stress and Meal Habits Among Hospital-Based Nursing Assistants

Introduction. Food and meal habits at the workplace are understudied, yet critical to understand, given that eating patterns at the workplace may be attributable to job characteristics.  Stressed workers, for example, may skip meals, consume quick foods at work, or eat while working - all behaviors associated with lower dietary quality. This study explores associations between job characteristics and work-related meal behaviors in hospital-based nursing assistants (NA), an occupational group with high rates of obesity.  Methods. Participants were 165 NAs at a private hospital in the Midwestern US.  NAs self-reported sociodemographics, frequency of engaging in 10 work-related meal behaviors (e.g., skipped meals), and job stress measures (e.g., job demands). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between job characteristics and meal behaviors. Results. Over 60% of NAs reported high frequencies of eating while working and grabbing something quick to eat after work; over half reported eating snacks throughout the workday and overeating due to a missed meal at work. NA’s reporting high job demands were more likely to grab something quick to eat while working (OR=2.1;p=0.02) and after work (OR=1.9;p=0.04), miss breakfast due to the job (OR=2.3;p=0.009), and miss eating meals due to the job (OR=1.9;p=0.04). NA’s reporting high job stress were more likely to grab something quick to eat while working (OR=2.1;p=0.001) and after work (OR=1.7;p=0.019). Discussion. High job demands and job stress impact eating behaviors among NAs. Future worksite interventions should focus on stress management and availability of healthful foods in the work environment.