Is there Diversity in our Diet? A Cross-sectional Study among Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary care Hospital in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Healthcare is a demanding profession and often, while performing their roles, healthcare workers face multiple occupational and personal stresses that may influence their ability to maintain positive dietary habits. Nutritional adequacy is the comparison between the nutrient requirement and the intake of a certain individual or population. Due to the limited availability of data on the dietary diversity of healthcare workers in India, an attempt was made to conduct an across-sectional study of the dietary diversity of healthcare workers working in a tertiary hospital. The sampling frame comprised of various hospital staff and healthcare workers who were working in the hospital and a total of 119 were examined. The study tool was prepared based on the FAO dietary diversity questionnaire Details about age, gender, and details regarding their jobs, such as shift work, were collected. A score of >11 was considered as the operational definition for a diverse diet. The socio-demographic variables of study participants, when analyzed show than early 90% (107) of the study population, were aged below thirty (30) years. Amongst the 119 subjects, 19 (16%) were male and 100 (84%) were female. Almost two thirds (58.8%) of the population involved worked in shifts. A majority of the subjects 18 (26.8%) opted for taste as the major determinant, followed by Stress at 15 (22.3%) and Cost with 12 (17.9%) subjects. When compared, dietary diversity in males was found to be much better. In conclusion, there is a significant absence of dietary diversity and the presence of nutrient inadequacy among the hospital staff and health care workers. This inadequacy is present primarily due to the ignorance and lifestyle choices of the subjects involved.