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- Title
Determinants of nutrition practice and food choice in UK construction workers.
- Authors
Wronska, Magdalena Daria; Coffey, Margaret; Robins, Anna
- Abstract
The workplace is considered an effective setting for health and wellbeing interventions, including programmes focusing on nutrition, and provides opportunities to tailor programmes to meet the specific needs of industry and employees. This study explored nutrition practices amongst construction workers and managers to inform the design of a nutrition intervention. Five focus groups were conducted on three construction sites: two with managers (n = 11) and three with workers (n = 27). Construction workers and managers identified several unhealthy nutrition-related behaviours, including high consumption of convenient and fast foods, excessive coffee, alcohol, energy drinks and low fruit and vegetable intake. These behaviours were often attributed to high workloads, long working hours and physically demanding jobs. Snacking and skipping meals were repeatedly reported, attributed to short breaks and poor accessibility to food outlets. The nutritional quality of meals differed between individuals (homemade vs fast food), depending on the type of sites (temporary vs permanent) and site location. Nutrition knowledge, establishing routines, meal planning and preparation were recognized as important in sustaining healthy nutrition habits. However, meal preparation depended on the facilities available, which differed between managers and workers, highlighting the complex relationship between the workplace context and eating behaviours. Construction workers were interested in learning about nutrition and improving their eating habits through nutrition intervention. However, they highlighted that better cooking and storage facilities on site, together with fewer job demands and longer break times, would enhance the sustainability of the intervention and their ability to make healthier food choices.
- Subjects
UNITED Kingdom; FOOD habits; SNACK foods; WORK environment; NUTRITIONAL assessment; EMPLOYEE attitudes; FOCUS groups; CONVENIENCE foods; COFFEE; VEGETABLES; EXECUTIVES; COOKING; DIET; FOOD preferences; CONSTRUCTION industry; ENERGY drinks; HEALTH literacy; HEALTH behavior; ALCOHOL drinking; FRUIT; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; FOOD quality; FOOD storage; THEMATIC analysis; MEALS
- Publication
Health Promotion International, 2022, Vol 37, Issue 5, p1
- ISSN
0957-4824
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/heapro/daac129