2025 Volume 33 Issue 3 Pages 159-168
Objective: To investigate the use of an employee cafeteria and meal choices made by obese individuals.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Factory T, which promotes healthy work practices and offers the Smart Meal® at its cafeteria. The study included 1,358 male full-time and limited-term employees. Cafeteria use and the meal choices of cafeteria users, classified by level of obesity, were collected via questionnaires, point-of-sale lunch data, and body mass index values determined in health examinations. The data were analyzed using the chi-squared test and binary logistic regression analysis.
Results: Cafeteria users were more likely to be aged 10 to 29 years (P=0.008) and limited-term employees (P<0.001). Obese individuals were less likely to use the cafeteria (P=0.005). Among cafeteria users, obese individuals were significantly more likely to choose a meal set other than a Smart Meal (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 2.09 [1.18, 3.71]) or a meal such as ramen or curry (2.35 [1.31, 4.21]) compared with a Smart Meal. They were also more likely to choose a regular portion (1.50 [1.00, 2.26]) or large portion (1.69 [1.05, 2.70]) of their staple food than a small portion. A larger proportion of obese participants considered the volume of the Smart Meal “small” (2.07 [1.25, 3.44]).
Conclusions: The obese participants tended not to choose Smart Meal. The data suggest that volume of a meal may be related to this tendency.
