Food consumption of workers in an information technology company: randomized clinical study.

Abstract

Introduction: The structure of the workplace, work relationships, accessibility and quality of food and time for meals reflect on individuals' eating habits.

Objectives: Analyze the changes in the diet of workers in relation to the consumption of calories, macronutrients and micronutrients.

Methods: Longitudinal study, lasting 8 months, randomized and descriptive clinical trial, with 95 information technology workers in the city of Campinas, state of São Paulo. The workers were divided into two groups based on a draw, the intervention group participated in monthly meetings and received messages via WhatsApp^® forwarded weekly, and the control group participated in two meetings. In the nutritional evaluation, the measurements of weight, height, waist circumference and skin folds were bicipital, tricipital, suprailiac and subscapular; they also responded to the 24-hour recall in which the consumption of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and lipids), micronutrients (vitamins A and C, calcium and selenium), calories and fiber was measured.

Results: It was observed that there was a significant difference between the final and start consumption of protein (p = 0.0008), carbohydrate (p = 0.0053) and calcium (p = 0.0197) in the control and selenium group (p = 0.0049) of the intervention group.

Conclusions: There were no significant changes in diet and in the reduction of body measures. The environment, time of intervention and frequency of individual consultations need to be reviewed for future studies, in order to improve commitment, make participation more active, for interventions to be effective.