2022 Volume 80 Issue 2 Pages 139-148
Objective: It is unclear what kind of meals shift workers consume at work. Using food service management data collected from the canteen where the same menu is served during all operating hours, we investigated the associations between menu choice and workers' work patterns and mealtimes in a company canteen among employees who work in a 24-hour business facility.
Methods: This facility had workers with four different working hours: regular office workers (daytime workers) and three-shift manufacturing workers (shift workers), each of whom used the company canteen at fixed mealtimes. All 13 days' worth of menus ordered at each mealtime were extracted from the food service management system of the canteen. The percentage of each menu item being selected was calculated by dividing the number of menu items served by the number of canteen users, to determine the differences by work pattern (daytime and shift workers) and mealtime.
Results: Compared with the daytime workers, significantly fewer shift workers chose vegetable side dishes, and significantly more chose noodles or a set of single menu items with a side dish, rather than set meals including rice, a main dish, and a side dish. At midnight, the percentage of workers choosing noodles and sweet desserts was significantly higher than at other shift hours.
Conclusion: The results revealed the difficulties shift workers faced in making menu choices at midnight. Efforts should be made to promote the selection of healthy menus in company canteens for shift workers.
