Relations among Night Work, Dietary Habits, Biological Measures, and Health Status

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate dietary intake, behavioral habits, and clinical and metabolic differences in night workers compared to day workers and to evaluate the metabolic differences associated with diet and body habitus that occur between these two groups. Dietary habits, biological parameters, and health status were collected in 1,200 night workers and man equal number of day workers, matched for gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Our findings demonstrated that night workers had poorer dietary habits and metabolic profiles compared to day workers with a similar overall health status. These differences were associated with a higher prevalence of some cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and obesity.