NDLI: Who chooses “healthy” meals? An analysis of lunchtime meal quality in a workplace cafeteria

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Bullock, Sally L. Winthrop, Hilary M. Hales, Derek Lin, Feng-Chang Yang, Yumei Ammerman, Alice S. Viera, Anthony J.
Abstract	Background The workplace can play an important role in shaping the eating behaviors of U.S. adults. Unfortunately, foods obtained in the workplace tend to be low in nutritional quality. Questions remain about the best way to approach the promotion of healthy food purchases among employees and to what extent health promotion activities should be tailored to the demographic characteristics of the employees. The purpose of this study was to (1) assess the nutritional quality of lunchtime meal purchases by employees in cafeterias of a large organization, (2) examine associations between lunchtime meal quality selection and the demographic characteristics of employees, and (3) determine the healthfulness of foods and beverages offered in the cafeterias of this organization. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using secondary data from a food labeling study implemented in three worksite cafeterias. Demographic data was collected via surveys and meal data was collected using a photo capture system for 378 participants. The Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015) was used to determine meal quality and a total score for the menu of options available in the cafeterias during the study period. Summary statistics were generated, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the HEI-2015 scores between groups. Results The mean HEI-2015 total score for the menu items offered (n = 1,229) in the cafeteria during the study period was 63.1 (SD = 1.83). The mean HEI-2015 score for individual lunchtime meal observations (n = 378) was 47.1 (SD = 6.8). In general, HEI-2015 total scores were higher for non-smokers, individuals who self-identified as Asian, had higher physical activity levels, scored higher on numeracy and literacy assessments, and reported higher education levels, incomes, and health status. Conclusions The overall HEI-2015 scores indicate that the menu of options offered in the cafeterias and individual meal selections did not align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and there were significant associations between average lunchtime meal quality scores and several demographic characteristics. These results suggest that healthy eating promotion activities in workplaces may need to be tailored to the demographic characteristics of the employees, and efforts to improve the food environment in the workplace could improve meal quality for all employees.
Related Links	https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12889-024-18284-5.pdf
Ending Page	10
Page Count	10
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	14712458
DOI	10.1186/s12889-024-18284-5
Journal	BMC Public Health
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	24
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2024-03-29
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Public Health Medicine Epidemiology Biostatistics Vaccine Environmental Health Meal quality Diet index Nutrition assessment Nutrition surveys Worksite Medicine/Public Health
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Journal Impact Factor	3.5/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	3.9/2023

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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