Association Between Intake of Ultra-Processed Food and Hours Worked: An Analysis of 2015-2018 NHANES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i4.2014Keywords:
ultra-processed foods, processed food, convenience food, working hours, US adults, NHANES, NOVAAbstract
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are foods that are typically ready-to-heat or eat and usually contain additives and substances not commonly used in food preparation. They make up around 60% of caloric intake in the US, but research has linked them with numerous detrimental effects on humans. This paper investigated the association between the number of hours worked per week and UPF consumption in the US to determine if addressing hours worked could potentially limit UPF intake. Though researchers have identified consequences of frequent UPF intake, not much is known about its possible causes. Using 2015-2018 NHANES data, ordinal logistic regression was performed to examine the relationship of interest. The major findings were that (1) UPFs contributed to around 65.2% of daily caloric intake in the US, and (2) there was no significant relationship between hours worked and UPF consumption. The high percent contribution reveals that UPFs make up a significant portion of American diets, and the observed lack of association aligns with previous findings that hours worked may not significantly impact feelings of time pressure (and resulting food choices). However, these analyses are limited in that NHANES does not categorize foods as UPF/non-UPF beforehand and potentially influential variables that were not asked about could not be accounted for. Overall, the high rate of consumption reinforces the need for more research about UPF intake reduction strategies, and the non-significant relationship of interest suggests that hours worked may not be an effective variable to analyze for its impact on UPF consumption.
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