Body-Self Relations, Eating Behaviors, and Occupational Factors Associated with BMI and Obesity in Mass Catering Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Background: Mass catering workers are repeatedly exposed to food during working hours while also experiencing time pressure and psychosocial job demands. This study aimed to examine associations of BMI and obesity with body-self relations, eating behaviors, and demand-control-support characteristics in mass catering workers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 452 workers in Isparta, Türkiye. BMI was calculated from measured weight and height. Body-self relations, eating behaviors, and occupational characteristics were assessed using the MBSRQ, TFEQ-R18, and Swedish Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire. BMI-group comparisons, Spearman correlations, and multivariable linear regression with HC3 robust standard errors were performed; obesity models were secondary.

Results: Mean BMI was 28.38 ± 4.66 kg/m²; 31.4% were classified as overweight and 44.2% as having obesity. body-self relation scores decreased and uncontrolled eating increased across BMI groups (both BH-adjusted p < 0.001). BMI correlated negatively with body-self relations (ρ = -0.465) and positively with uncontrolled eating (ρ = 0.427). In the fully adjusted model, body-self relations were inversely associated with BMI (β = -2.816, 95% CI -3.855 to -1.778), whereas uncontrolled eating was positively associated with BMI (β = 0.0347 per point, 95% CI 0.0190 to 0.0503).

Conclusions: BMI variation in this workforce was characterized most consistently by body-self relations and uncontrolled eating, alongside smaller occupational associations.