Eating Behavior (Duration, Content, and Timing) Among Workers Living under Different Levels of Urbanization

Abstract

Urbanization has contributed to extended wakefulness, which may in turn be associated with eating over a longer period. Here, we present a field study conducted in four groups with different work hours and places of living in order to investigate eating behavior (duration, content, and timing). Anthropometric measures were taken from the participants (rural (n = 22); town (n = 19); city-day workers (n = 11); city-night workers (n = 14)). In addition, a sociodemographic questionnaire was self-answered and 24-h food recalls were applied for three days. The 24-h food recalls revealed that fat intake varied according to the groups, with the highest consumption by the city-day workers. By contrast, city-day workers had the lowest intake of carbohydrate, whereas the rural group had the highest. In general, all groups had some degree of inadequacy in food consumption. Eating duration was negatively correlated with total energy intake, fat, and protein consumption in the rural and town groups. There was a positive correlation between body mass index and eating duration in both city groups. The rural group had the earliest start time of eating, and this was associated with a lower body mass index. This study suggested that food content and timing, as well as eating duration, differed according to place of living, which in turn may be linked to lifestyle.

From Ampesie to French fries: systematising the characteristics, drivers and impacts of diet change in rapidly urbanising Accra

“…This essentially creates the pre-conditions for increased UPF consumption inside and outside of home, and unhealthy eating and cooking habits (e.g., eating late at night), which may lead eventually to an increased risk of non-communicable diseases. This linkage between urban form, lifestyle, and diet change has been identified in some urban contexts of SSA and elsewhere (Tiuganji et al 2020 ; Bren d’Amour et al 2020 ; Khonje and Qaim 2019 ).…”

Development and Evaluation of Integrated Chrono-Nutrition Weight Reduction Program among Overweight/Obese with Morning and Evening Chronotypes

“…A 12-month follow-up study post-lifestyle intervention reported those who slept less than 6 h/day had a smaller reduction in waist circumference compared to those who slept more than 7 h/day [56]. Sleep and chrono-nutrition is interrelated, as it was shown that short sleepers were associated with longer eating windows [57], which could lead to greater food intake [58]. Despite this, both chronotypes demonstrated a reduction in total eating window post-intervention.…”

Content Validation of a Chrononutrition Questionnaire for the General and Shift Work Populations: A Delphi Study

“…Firstly, shift workers are asked about sleep and wake times during very specific shift scenarios based on the MCTQ Shift [28]; hence, it can only determine the temporal patterns of eating but not chronotype or sleep pattern of shift workers with certain patterns of rotating shift work or who perform split shifts. Secondly, we chose to capture the spread of energy distribution across the day based on the time of largest meal amidst times of main meals and snacks, instead of by calorie intake at set time intervals (e.g., 0900-1200 h, 1200-1500 h) across the day as in previous studies [75,76]. This approach chosen will be investigated in a subsequent study by comparison against food diaries completed within the same time frame.…”