Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T08:47:37.408Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Having lunch at a staff canteen is associated with recommended food habits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Eva Roos ,
Sirpa Sarlio-Lähteenkorva  and
Tea Lallukka
Eva Roos*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, PO Box 41, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
Sirpa Sarlio-Lähteenkorva
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, PO Box 41, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
Tea Lallukka
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, PO Box 41, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
*
*Corresponding author: Email eva.roos@helsinki.fi
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

To describe the characteristics of employees having lunch at staff canteens and to examine the association between workplace lunch and recommended food habits.

Design:

A mailed questionnaire including data on lunch pattern, food habits, sociodemographic background, work-related factors and body weight. Logistic regression models including food habits as dependent variables and lunch pattern, sociodemographic factors, work-related factors and body mass index as independent variables.

Setting:

Helsinki Health Study survey data, collected in spring 2001.

Subjects:

Employees from the City of Helsinki reaching 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 years. The data included 2474 women and 591 men; the response rate was 68%.

Results:

About half of those with a staff canteen at work had lunch there. Those with higher educational level were more likely to have lunch at the staff canteen, as also were women with pre-school children and normal-weight men. Those having lunch at staff canteens were more likely to follow recommended food habits, compared with other subjects. Having lunch at the staff canteen seemed to increase the consumption frequency of vegetables and fish.

Conclusions:

Having lunch at staff canteens is associated with the quality of the diet. To serve a cooked meal including vegetables during working time may be an efficient way to improve diet among adult employees. More emphasis should be put on increasing the possibility for employees to have lunch at staff canteens.

Keywords

Food habitsLunchStaff canteenEmployees
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , February 2004 , pp. 53 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2004

References

1Anon. Contribution of away-from-home foods to American diet quality. Family Economics and Nutrition Review 1999; 12(3&4): 85–9.Google Scholar
2Guthri, JF, Lin, BH, Frazao, E. Role of food prepared away from home in the American diet, 1977–78 versus 1994–96: changes and consequences. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 2002; 34(3): 140–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3Nielsen, SJ, Siega-Riz, AM, Popkin, BM. Trends in food locations and sources among adolescents and young adults. Preventive Medicine 2002; 35(2): 107–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Haines, PS, Hungerford, DW, Popkin, BM, Guilkey, DK. Eating patterns and energy and nutrient intakes of US women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1992; 92(6): 698–704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5French, SA, Harnack, L, Jeffery, RW. Fast food restaurant use among women in the Pound of Prevention study: dietary, behavioral and demographic correlates. International Journal of Obesity 2000; 24(10): 1353–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6French, SA, Story, M, Jeffery, RW. Environmental influences on eating and physical activity. Annual Review of Public Health 2001; 22: 309–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7French, SA, Story, M, Neumark-Sztainer, D, Fulkerson, JA, Hannan, P. Fast food restaurant use among adolescents: associations with nutrient intake, food choices and behavioral and psychosocial variables. International Journal of Obesity 2001; 25(12): 1823–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8Burns, C, Jackson, M, Gibbons, C, Stoney, RM. Foods prepared outside the home: association with selected nutrients and body mass index in adult Australians. Public Health Nutrition 2002; 5(3): 441–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Le Francois, P, Calamassi-Tran, G, Hebel, P, Renault, C, Lebreton, S, Volatier, JL. Food and nutrient intake outside the home of 629 French people of fifteen years and over. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1996; 50(12): 826–31.Google ScholarPubMed
10Emmons, KM, Linnan, LA, Shadel, WG, Marcus, B, Abrams, DB. The Working Healthy Project: a worksite health-promotion trial targeting physical activity, diet, and smoking. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1999; 41(7): 545–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11Winter, I, Ott-Gerlach, G. Wholesome occupational food services – an area of prevention with high acceptance [in German]. Offentliche Gesundheitwesen 1991; 53: 44–7.Google ScholarPubMed
12Mäkelä, J. ‘You should eat more salad’. Nutrition recommendations and women's views on healthy eating in Helsinki metropolitan area [in Finnish]. Journal of Social Medicine 1996; 33: 17–23.Google Scholar
13Prättälä, R. North European meals: observations from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In Meiselman, HL, ed. Dimensions of the Meal. The Science, Culture, Business and Art of Eating. Maryland: Aspen Publications, 2000; 191–201.Google Scholar
14National Nutrition Council. Nutrition Policy in Finland. Country paper prepared for the FAO/WHO. International Conference on NutritionRome199211: 1–64.Google Scholar
15National Public Health Institute. The 1997 Dietary Survey of Finnish Adults. Helsinki: National Public Health Institute, 1998; B8: 1–96.Google Scholar
16Lallukka, T, Lahti-Koski, M, Ovaskainen, M. Vegetable and fruit consumption and its determinants in young Finnish adults. Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition 2001; 45: 120–5.Google Scholar
17Laitinen, J. Eating during work hours among young adults [in Finnish]. Work and Human 2000; 1: 49–67.Google Scholar
18Lallukka, T, Aittomäki, A, Piha, K, Roos, E, Kivelä, K, Silventoinen, K. Associations of socio-economic factors and sickness absence with participation in a health survey [in Finnish]. Journal of Social Medicine 2002; 39: 164–71.Google Scholar
19National Nutrition Council. Finnish Dietary Guidelines. Helsinki: National Nutrition Council, 1998; 7: 1–80 [in Finnish].Google Scholar
20Roos, E, Prättälä, R, Lahelma, E, Kleemola, P, Pietinen, P. Modern and healthy?: socioeconomic differences in the quality of diet. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1996; 50(11): 753–60.Google ScholarPubMed
21Roos, E, Lahelma, E, Virtanen, M, Prättälä, R, Pietinen, P. Gender, socioeconomic status and family status as determinants of food behaviour. Social Science & Medicine 1998; 46(12): 1519–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22Hulshof, KF, Lowik, MR, Kok, FJ, Wedel, M, Brants, HA, Hermus, RJ, et al. Diet and other life-style factors in high and low socio-economic groups (Dutch Nutrition Surveillance System). European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1991; 45(9): 441–50.Google ScholarPubMed
23Hulshof, KF, Brussaard, JH, Kruizinga, AG, Telman, J, Lowik, MR. Socio-economic status, dietary intake and 10y trends: the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003; 57(1): 128–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24Shimakawa, T, Sorlie, P, Carpenter, MA, Dennis, B, Tell, GS, Watson, R, et al. Dietary intake patterns and sociodemographic factors in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. ARIC Study Investigators. Preventive Medicine 1994; 23(6): 769–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25Lennernäs, M, Becker, W, Hagman, U. Matvanor före och efter beskattningen av lunchsubventionerna [Food Habits Before and After the Taxation of Lunch Subsidies] Uppsala: SLV rapport, 1994; 4: 1–73.Google Scholar
26Hayes, D, Ross, CE. Concern with appearance, health beliefs, and eating habits. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 1987; 28(2): 120–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27Turrell, G. Determinants of gender differences in dietary behavior. Nutrition Research 1997; 17: 1105–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28Basiotis, PP, Guthrie, JF, Bowman, SA, Welsh, SO. Construction and evaluation of a diet status index. Family Economics and Nutrition Review 1995; 8: 2–13.Google Scholar
29Kennedy, E, Ohls, J, Carlson, S, Fleming, K. The Healthy Eating Index: design and applications. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1995; 95: 1103–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30Hasunen, K, Helminen, P, Lusa, S, Prättälä, R. Yksin vai yhdessä? Työpaikkaruokailu murrosvaiheessa [Alone or Together? Having Lunch at Staff Canteens is in a Transition Period]. Helsinki: Työterveyslaitos, 1995.Google Scholar
31Roos, E, Prättälä, R. Meal pattern and nutrient intake among adult Finns. Appetite 1997 29(1): 11–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed