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Workplace staff canteen is associated with lower blood pressure among industry workers

Daniele B. Vinholes (Postgraduate Studies Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil)
Carlos Alberto Machado (Disciplina de Cardiologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, UNIFESP, São Paulo, Brazil)
Hilton Chaves (Department of Clinical Medicine, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil)
Sinara L. Rossato (Postgraduate Studies Program in Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil) (Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA)
Ione M.F. Melo (Unit of Health and Safety of Work, Serviço Social da Indústria (SESI), Brasilia, Brazil) (Departamento de Ações Programáticas e Estrategicas (DAPES), Brazilian Ministry of Health, Brasilia, Brazil)
Flavio D. Fuchs (Division of Cardiology, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil)
Sandra C. Fuchs (Postgraduate Studies Program in Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil)

British Food Journal

ISSN: 0007-070X

Article publication date: 5 March 2018

284

Abstract

Purpose

A staff canteen in the workplace can offer a healthier diet, which may lower the blood pressure (BP). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether the presence of staff canteen in the workplace is associated with consumption of healthy food and lower systolic and diastolic BP.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study was conducted, randomly selecting workers through a multistage sampling, stratified by company size in Brazil. Demographic, socioeconomic, and life style characteristics were evaluated, and weight, height, and BP were measured. Statistical analysis used generalized linear models, controlling for design effect and confounding factors, to assess the association between BP and staff canteen and the intake of food items.

Findings

In total, 4.818 workers, aged 35.4±10.7 years, 76.5 percent men, with 8.7±4.1 years of formal education were enrolled. Prevalence of hypertension was 24.7 percent (p-value <0.001) among workers from industries with staff canteen vs 30.6 percent among those with no staff canteen. Workers of industries with staff canteen consumed higher proportion of fruits, green leafy vegetables, and milk than workers of industries without canteen, and had lower systolic and diastolic BP, independently of the frequency of intake.

Practical implications

Workers of industries with staff canteen consumed a healthier diet, and had lower systolic and diastolic BP, and lower prevalence of hypertension than workers from workplaces without staff canteen.

Originality/value

This study was the first carried out among workers of industries reporting that the presence of a staff canteen in the workplace is associated with lower systolic and diastolic BP and prevalence of hypertension.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Conflict of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest.

Citation

Vinholes, D.B., Machado, C.A., Chaves, H., Rossato, S.L., Melo, I.M.F., Fuchs, F.D. and Fuchs, S.C. (2018), "Workplace staff canteen is associated with lower blood pressure among industry workers", British Food Journal, Vol. 120 No. 3, pp. 602-612. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-01-2017-0026

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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