Differences in the Prevalence of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Spanish Workers

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the differences in daily fruit and vegetable consumption in the working population in Spain. A cross-sectional study was conducted, using data from the 2017 National Health Survey (n = 10,700 workers aged between 18 and 65 years). The daily consumption of fruit and vegetables was evaluated using two items included in a food frequency questionnaire. Occupations were classified into the 17 main groups of the National Classification of Occupations of 2011 (CNO-11). The prevalence (P) of daily fruit and vegetable consumption was calculated in relation to sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, work-related characteristics and occupations. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association, with simple and adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR). The P of daily consumption of fruit and vegetables in workers was 60% for fruit and 40% for vegetables. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviors, workers working night or rotating shifts had a lower consumption of fruits (aOR:0.9; p < 0.05), and those working on temporary contracts had a lower consumption of vegetables (aOR:0.8; p < 0.05). Engineers, scientists, health care workers and teachers had the highest fruit consumption (74.5%) and the highest vegetable consumption (55.1%). The lowest consumption of fruits was presented by the military (42.3%) and unskilled workers in the service sector (45.8%), and the lowest consumption of vegetables was presented by skilled construction workers (25.5%). These findings could aid in workplace health promotion and could be used in future studies to evaluate the impact of the activities adopted.

Determinants of Consumption of Vegetables among the Spanish Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In fact, having a better knowledge of an adequate vegetable intake has been related to higher vegetable consumption [22], and a higher educational level has been related to better nutritional knowledge [43]. In Spanish workers aged between 18 and 65 years old, health care professionals, scientists, engineers, and teachers had the highest vegetable consumption [17]. Thus, the association between a higher educational level attained and the alignment with vegetable intake recommendations may serve as an indicator of social inequality in health [47].…”

“…Though some studies have analyzed the social and demographic determinants of vegetable consumption, it appears that the relation between vegetable consumption and sociodemographic factors is not obvious. Being a woman [16,17] and a more educated individual [18,19] have been related, with some consistency, to more vegetable consumption. However, older adults have been identified as larger consumers of vegetables in some studies [20,21] but as lesser consumers in others [22], and being married has shown associations to a better intake of vegetables [23] or to a poorer one [23,24].…”

“…How many? [17,30,31]. To describe the data the next categories were created as follows: never, less than one time/week, one or two times/week, three times/week, between four and six times/week, one time/day, two times/day, three times/day, and between four and eight times/day.…”

What Drives Abdominal Obesity in Peru? A Multilevel Analysis Approach Using a Nationally Representative Survey

“…Fast food advertisements on social media could also hinder the ability of young adults to opt for healthy eating behaviors [ 44 ]. Workers in rotating shifts, temporary contacts, and manual labor consume fewer fruits and vegetables, which is associated with longer working days, lower educational attainment, and higher levels of stress [ 45 ]. Since around 18.9% of the Peruvian GDP is produced by the informal sector (composed of >70% of the economically active population) [ 46 ], a large sector of the working force is at increased risk of AO.…”

A Method to Estimate the Efficacy vs. Effectiveness in Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials with Different Adherence Scenarios: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study in Nutrition

“…Adherence could be explained by a variety of factors, such as: (a) the type and duration of nutritional treatment received [ 37 , 38 ], highlighting the importance of follow-up to assess the efficacy of the intervention in the short and long term [ 39 , 40 ]; (b) motivation: as one of the facilitating factors in adherence to FV consumption [ 41 , 42 ], versus who was assigned to the control group; (c) access to information: adherence may be hampered due to the fact that practical aspects of the assigned intervention are unknown, such as portion sizes and the need for food variability [ 43 ]; (d) employment status and occupation: occupation gathers information on life styles and conditions related to education and income level; at a general level, a better professional qualification provides better working conditions and higher income, conditions associated with a higher prevalence of FV consumption [ 44 , 45 ]; (e) psychosocial stress: subjects with a history of cardiovascular disease undergoing a nutritional intervention [ 46 ], such as the consumption of FV according to recommendations assigned by the professional, in the long term generate allostatic load, that is, a maladaptive response, in this case not following the recommendations indicated [ 47 ]; (g) compensatory health beliefs: a factor that can influence adherence to FV consumption and consists of the belief that unhealthy behavior can be compensated; for example, eating unhealthily can be offset by exercising [ 42 ]; or, finally, (h) psychotherapeutic interventions: among psychotherapeutic interventions for modifying behaviors to promote adherence to nutritional interventions [ 48 ], we find Behavioral Activation (BA), focused on the reduction in avoidance behaviors and the development of routines and rewarding behaviors that allow greater adherence to FV consumption in adults with subsyndromal symptoms of depression [ 49 ].…”